There is concern in Lebanon because there has been an uptick in violence along the border, where Hezbollah and Israel have been trading nearly-daily fire since October, Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr reports from Beirut, Lebanon.

Caretaker PM Mikati has summoned Western ambassadors to attend an emergency meeting which is still underway. The Lebanese government is not directly involved in this conflict, but it has been trying to reach out to Western nations to find some sort of a diplomatic solution and to restrain Israel.

But the confrontations cannot end as long as the onslaught on Gaza continues because Hezbollah has conditioned a halt to firing to an end to the conflict on Gaza. What Israel wants is security guarantees along the border in order for tens of thousands of residents to return to their homes.

In recent days, Israel has intensified its attacks on what it calls Hezbollah’s assets close to the border. For Hezbollah, too, there has been a sharp increase in the number of rockets it has launched at northern Israel. And there was a drone attack a few hours ago that targeted a residential building in Nahariya.