BEIRUT: Lebanon's caretaker prime minister said on Monday he was working to ensure his country does not enter the war, even amid exchanging cross-border fire.
Najib Mikati said he feared an escalation, with the border skirmishes stoking concerns that it could open a new front with Israel.
"I am doing my duty to prevent Lebanon from entering the war" raging further south, Mikati said in an interview.
"Lebanon is in the eye of the storm," he added.
Mikati said that he has no "clear answer" about whether war loomed ahead, adding that "it depends on regional developments".
In 2006, Lebanon and Israel encountered a bloody conflict that left more than 1,200 people dead in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 160 in Israel, mostly soldiers.
"For now we have managed the situation rationally and wisely, and the rules of the game have remained constrained to certain limits," Mikati said.
"But at the same time I feel like I cannot reassure Lebanese" because the situation is still developing, he added.
The cross-border violence has killed at least 62 people in Lebanon, mostly Lebanese combatants but also four civilians including Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah.
Israeli officials have reported four deaths, including one civilian.
Mikati said any escalation could extend beyond Lebanon.
"I cannot rule out an escalation because there is a race to reach a ceasefire before escalation spreads in the entire region," Mikati said.
"I fear that... chaos could engulf the entire Middle East," he also said.
Allied Palestinian factions in Lebanon have exchanged fire with Israel almost daily since October 7.
Lebanon witnessed a flurry of diplomatic activity at the start of the escalation, with high officials visiting the country and Mikati going on an official trip on Sunday to Qatar — which is mediating peace efforts in the war.
Qatar was playing "an important mediation role," Mikati said.
"Mediation almost succeeded last Friday, but was disrupted when the Israelis began ground operations in Gaza," he said.
Mikati, who heads a caretaker cabinet with limited powers, urged Lebanese lawmakers to "elect a president as soon as possible".
"Lebanese have had enough of wars," Mikati said.
"Lebanese... do not want to enter any war and want stability."
Lebanese were weary of conflict, Mikati said, in a country that was battered by a 1975-1990 civil war, 1982-2000 Israeli occupation and the 2006 war with Israel. — AFP
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