Scholz calls for ‘diplomatic solution’ to Israel-Hezbollah conflict

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for a “diplomatic solution” to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah during a phone conversation with Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, a government spokesman in Berlin said.

Scholz expressed “great concern” over the escalation in fighting and highlighted the danger of a “regional conflagration,” government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said on Wednesday evening.

“The chancellor stressed that a diplomatic solution to the conflict was possible,” the statement said, specifically mentioning the nearly two-decade-old UN Security Council Resolution 1701.

The resolution called for a full cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah and spelled out the activity permitted in the border area, including the Iran-backed militia’s withdrawal.

Israel’s military and Hezbollah have been engaging in skirmishes in the border area for months. The cross-border attacks dramatically escalated in recent days with intense Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon and hundreds of rockets fired by Hezbollah.