Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib told Israeli FM Israel Katz, “We are interested in peace. We do not want war.”
Katz responded to Habib, “We need to return our residents to their homes; if it is not through a diplomatic solution, it will be through war.”
Since Israel and Lebanon have no established diplomatic ties, the messages had to be sent through third parties.
Hezbollah has carried out almost daily attacks against Israel in the nearly 9 months since the Gaza war began, and 60,000 Israelis who lived in the north have had to evacuate their homes.
In the past few weeks, rhetoric and military attacks have increased in intensity and have raised fears of a Third Lebanon War.
Hezbollah’s deputy leader announced on Wednesday that it would stop attacking Israel if it agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza.
