Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has stressed that diplomatic efforts need to be intensified to achieve a ceasefire with Israel, Al Jazeera reports.

“What we have witnessed is not just an Israeli expansion and crossing, as Israel does not target specific locations but rather adopts a policy of total destruction,” he says, speaking from the government palace. “What Israel is doing is not only a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty but an act of erasing history.”

Regarding the ongoing truce negotiations, he says the “decision of war and peace remains a national decision”.

He has also addressed the people in the south of the country who have been displaced from their homes because of Israel’s ground invasion. 

“Your pain is the pain of all of Lebanon,” said Salam. “Trust that the Lebanese state will spare no effort to establish a ceasefire, the return of prisoners, and reconstruction.”