US senior envoy in Beirut to press calm along Lebanon-Israel border as a truce in Gaza is pursued

A senior U.S. envoy visiting Beirut Monday said if a truce is reached in the Gaza Strip it would not automatically translate to calm along the volatile Lebanon-Israel border which has witnessed a rise in tensions.

Since the Israel-Hamas war started, Lebanon's militant group Hezbollah has been exchanging fire with Israel almost daily, displacing thousands of people and spiking fear the conflict may spread in the region.

Amos Hochstein ’s comments came hours after Hezbollah's deputy leader, Naim Kassem, reiterated that the only way to stop the war along the Lebanon-Israel border is to end the war in Gaza.

Hochstein, a senior adviser to U.S. President Joe Biden, began his talks by meeting Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally. He is scheduled to meet other officials and politicians during his visit.

“The United States remains committed to advancing lasting security solutions achieved through diplomatic process,” Hochstein told reporters after he met Berri. He said such a move would allow tens of thousands of Lebanese and Israelis who were displaced by the conflict “to safely return” to their homes.

Hochstein’s visit came as the U.S., Qatar and Egypt have been trying for weeks to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and to convince the Palestinian militant group to release some of the scores of hostages it is still holding since the Oct. 7 attack that sparked the war.

It also comes as Israeli rescuers said Monday a foreign worker was killed and several others wounded by an anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon. The Magen David Adom rescue service said it treated seven people, including two in serious condition.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah said its fighters aborted two infiltration attempts the night