Mikati says Lebanon shouldn't be turned into 'arena for conflicts starting from south'

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Wednesday that efforts should be exerted to prevent Lebanon from being turned into “an arena for armed conflicts starting from the south.”

“The relevant U.N. resolutions must be implemented in order to put an end to Israel’s expansionist ambitions, and accordingly not linking Lebanon’s stability and interests to extremely complicated conflicts and endless wars,” Mikati added, during a joint press conference in Beirut with the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

Israeli forces and Iran-backed Hezbollah are exchanging cross-norder fire on a near-daily basis, and the Israeli army said last week that plans for an offensive in Lebanon were "approved and validated."

Eight months of cross-border violence has killed at least 481 people in Lebanon, mostly fighters but also including 94 civilians, according to an AFP tally.

Israeli authorities say at least 15 soldiers and 11 civilians have been killed in the country's north.