UN officials in Lebanon urge Israel border de-escalation

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 U.N. special coordinator for Lebanon, Joanna Wronecka, and Aroldo Lazaro, head of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

UNIFIL peacekeepers patrol the so-called Blue Line between Lebanon and Israel, demarcated by the U.N. 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 U.N. officials warned.

The Israeli army said on Sunday it...