Mikati hails UN ceasefire call, urges halt to Israeli aggression against Lebanon

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has hailed the U.N. Security Council call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza five months into the grinding war.

Mikati said the resolution is the "first stage in the process of ending Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip," as he urged the international community to pressure Israel to stop its aggression against south Lebanon.

Mikati also called for a political solution "to end the conflict and give the Palestinians their rights".

Since the war in Gaza erupted in October, there have been near-daily exchanges along the Lebanon-Israel border and international mediators have scrambled to prevent an all-out war in tiny Lebanon.

It is still not clear whether a Gaza ceasefire would apply to Lebanon.

Although Hezbollah has said it would abide by any Gaza truce, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Monday that "the lack of a decisive victory in Gaza" may bring Israel closer to a war in the north.