STORY: U.S. envoy in Lebanon to seek diplomatic solution to Israel-Lebanon border conflict
SHOOTING TIME: Jan. 11, 2024
DATELINE: Jan. 12, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:54
LOCATION: Beirut
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein
2. various of a press conference
3. SOUNDBITE (English): AMOS HOCHSTEIN, U.S. special envoy
4. various of talks

STORYLINE:

U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein visited Lebanon on Thursday to address the escalating tensions between Hezbollah and Israel.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati urged an end to Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon during discussions with Hochstein.

Hochstein also met with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and other officials on the current situation along the Lebanon-Israel borders as well as the conflict in Gaza.

Speaking at a press conference following his talks with Berri, Hochstein highlighted the need to calm the situation in southern Lebanon and proposed exploring temporary compromises to prevent further escalation.

SOUNDBITE (English): AMOS HOCHSTEIN, U.S. special envoy
"I firmly believe that the people of Lebanon do not want to see an escalation of the current crisis to further conflict. We need to find a diplomatic solution that will allow the Lebanese people to return to their homes in south Lebanon and to go back to their normal lives as the people of Israel need to be able to return to their homes in their north and to be able to live with security. That is the goal. I've had good discussions here with the government. And I am hopeful that we can continue to work with this effort to arrive together, all of us on both sides of the borders, with a solution that will allow for all people in Lebanon and Israel to live with guaranteed security and to focus on a better future.
You've all heard what the government in Israel has said which is there is a narrow window, but they prefer a diplomatic solution. I think that is the case. We're living in a crisis moment where we would like to see a diplomatic solution and I believe that both sides prefer a diplomatic solution. It is our job to get one. Thank you."

Confrontations on the borders continued to intensify on Thursday, with two members of the Civil Defense being killed and four others wounded in an Israeli air strike on Lebanon's southern town of Hanin, a Lebanese military source told Xinhua.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the casualties resulted from an Israeli warplane firing four missiles at a civil defense center and two adjacent houses in Hanin.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah said its fighters attacked several Israeli sites in al-Baghdadi and al-Motella.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Beirut.
(XHTV)