Lebanese premier meets French minister, hopes for de-escalation

Lebanon's acting Prime Minister Najib Mikati expressed hope on Thursday for de-escalation at the Lebanese border with Israel in order to avoid all-out war between the two states.

"In this difficult time that we are going through, we can only be silent, be patient and pray," Mikati was quoted by the state-run news agency NNA as saying following a meeting with French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné in the Lebanese capital Beirut.

Séjourné, for his part, reiterated France's support for Lebanon during the meeting, according to NNA.

"What matters to us is working to reduce the escalation," the French diplomat said after meeting House Speaker Nabih Berri, a main ally of the Iranian-back Lebanese Hezbollah militia.

"This is the message I conveyed to the Lebanese authorities and the same message I will convey to the rest of the countries in the region.

"We hope that the situation will calm down in these very sensitive times.

"What matters to us before anything else is a ceasefire in Gaza, and this is the basic and necessary factor that is indispensable if we want to seek peace in the region," Séjourné added.

The government in Lebanon is hardly visible or able to act in the current crisis, only being in office on an executive basis with the political leaders using the vacuum to advance their own goals.

Hezbollah acts like a state within a state in the small Mediterranean nation. It has great political influence, and the Lebanese state has little control in the areas it controls. This also includes the south of Lebanon.

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in daily exchanges of fire since the Gaza war began in October. There have been fatalities on both sides.