Lebanon says working with Hezbollah to prevent Israel-Hamas war to worsen

The Lebanese government said it is working with Hezbollah and Palestinian groups in Lebanon to prevent Israel-Hamas war. “We are working with Hezbollah and other Palestinian organisations here to prevent a war,” said Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib to CNN. The minister further said, “We’d like the US also to pressure Israel not to start a war.” On Friday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said “all scenarios” are possible on the Lebanon-Israel border, warning Israel against further escalation of its operations on the Lebanese border, as he repeated calls for a ceasefire in Gaza. Habib, meanwhile, claimed that Israel provokes Lebanon “every day” and said he believes Hezbollah does not want a war. No war unless Israel attacks Lebanon Habib said, “We are under the impression, they didn’t tell us, but we are under the impression that there wouldn’t be any big war coming unless Israel attacks Lebanon or the situation gets very bad in Gaza." “One small incident can start a war. Hopefully not, Lebanese do not want war, I don’t think Hezbollah wants a war… hopefully the Israelis don’t start a war with us,” he added. Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Hezbollah has been exchanging fire with Israel across the border for days and has also threatened to expand a conflict between Israel and Hamas. Backed by Iran, Hezbollah has said it is ready to help when the time comes in the war between Israel and Hamas, which is also backed by Tehran. In 1982, amid the Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards founded Hezbollah. It was part of Iran’s effort to exports its 1979 Islamic Revolution around the region and fight Israeli forces after their 1982 invasion of Lebanon. Sharing Tehran’s Shi’ite Islamist ideology, Hezbollah recruited Lebanese Shi’ite Muslims. The group has risen from a shadowy faction to a heavily armed force with major sway over the Lebanese state. The US, some Western governments and others deem it a terrorist organisation. Hezbollah’s role in Israel-Hamas war Hezbollah shares strong ties with Hamas, which controls Gaza, and Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian faction backed by Iran. Hezbollah said it was in “direct contact with the leadership of the Palestinian resistance” on October 7, the day Hamas terrorists carried out an unprecedented assault from Gaza into Israel, killing 1,300 people. Since October 7, Hezbollah has exchanged cross-border fire with Israel numerous times. Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which both have a presence in Lebanon, have mounted attacks on Israel from Lebanon for the first time, including an October 10 cross-border infiltration into Israel by Islamic Jihad. With inputs from agencies