BEIRUT, April 8, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - United Nations officials said on Monday 
that six months of violence on the Israel-Lebanon border "must stop", urging 
de-escalation "while there is still space for diplomacy".

Israeli forces and Lebanon's powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah, an ally of 
Palestinian armed group Hamas, have exchanged regular cross-border fire since 
the day after Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel that triggered 
war in the Gaza Strip.

Other armed groups in Lebanon including Palestinian militants have also 
occasionally claimed launches into Israel.

"It is six months since the exchanges of fire across the Blue Line began, and 
continue unabated, taking a heavy toll on both sides," said a joint statement 
from UN special coordinator for Lebanon, Joanna Wronecka, and Aroldo Lazaro, 
head of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

UNIFIL peacekeepers patrol the so-called Blue Line between Lebanon and 
Israel, demarcated by the UN in 2000 after Israeli troops pulled out of 
southern Lebanon.

"The violence and suffering has gone on too long. It must stop," the 
officials said.

They urged all sides to "avail of all avenues to avoid further escalation 
while there is still space for diplomacy".

Hezbollah, which has a powerful arsenal of rockets and missiles and says it 
acts in support of Hamas, has upped its attacks though they are generally 
limited to the border area.

Israel meanwhile has struck increasingly deeper into Lebanese territory, also 
targeting Hezbollah commanders.

"The gradual expansion in the scope and scale of the confrontations... 
significantly raises the risk of miscalculation and further deterioration of 
an already alarming situation," the UN officials warned.

The Israeli army said on Sunday it had completed "another phase of... 
readiness for war" on the Lebanon front.

The violence has so far killed at least 363 people in Lebanon, mostly 
Hezbollah fighters but also including at least 70 civilians, according to an 
AFP tally.

Tens of thousands of people have been displaced in southern Lebanon and in 
northern Israel, where the military says 10 soldiers and eight civilians have 
been killed.

According to the UN officials, "a political process, anchored in the full 
implementation of Resolution 1701, is now more crucial than ever to address 
the root causes of the conflict and ensure long-term stability."

UN Security Council Resolution 1701 ended a 2006 war between Israel and 
Hezbollah and called for the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers to be the only 
armed forces deployed in the country's south.

While Hezbollah has not had a visible military presence in the border area 
since 2006, it holds sway over large swathes of the south, where it has built 
tunnels, hideouts and launches attacks.