Report: US tells Mikati that Gaza truce will apply to Lebanon

The latest Israeli escalation “has not changed Hezbollah’s stance” that “rules out an all-out Israeli war on Lebanon,” the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper reported.

“The (Israeli) war minister’s threats do not enjoy his government’s approval and what Hezbollah has been told by the Americans through PM Najib Mikati is that Israel will not be allowed to wage a broad war on Lebanon, and that Gaza’s truce will definitely apply to the South,” the daily added.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Sunday that Israel would increase its strikes on Hezbollah even if a ceasefire is reached in the Gaza Strip.

“In the event of a temporary truce in Gaza, we will increase the fire in the north, and will continue until the full withdrawal of Hezbollah (from the border) and the return of the residents to their homes,” he said, referring to some 80,000 Israelis displaced by the fighting.

Since October 8, Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged near-daily fire. At least 284 people have been killed on the Lebanese side since fighting erupted, most of them Hezbollah fighters but also including 44 civilians. On the Israeli side, 10 soldiers and six civilians have been killed according to the Israeli army.