UN special coordinator sees opportunity for diplomatic efforts to ‘reach a solution’ The Israeli army carried out a sweep operation using machine guns toward the border town of Kfarkela BEIRUT: The escalation of violence continued on the southern Lebanese border on Friday between the Iran-backed Hezbollah and the Israeli army. Israeli shelling was confined to targeting border towns for the fourth successive day, causing further destruction to homes and facilities. Artillery shelling by Merkava tanks targeted the towns of Kfarkela, Khiam, Odaisseh, Tallet Al-Hamams, and Hula. The Israeli army carried out a sweep operation using machine guns toward the border town of Kfarkela. An airstrike destroyed a house in the town of Aita Al-Shaab while, also on Friday, Israeli sirens sounded in the settlements of Kfar Giladi and Metula. The Israeli media reported the firing of two anti-tank missiles from Lebanon toward the Metula settlement. Hezbollah said that it had targeted the site with an attack drone and hit a tank. It added it had also targeted a deployment of Israeli army soldiers in the vicinity of the Zar’it Barracks with artillery shells. Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem said: “Some people want us to engage in more confrontation, but in our opinion this level is sufficient and achieves the goal. Non-confrontation, on the other hand, is inconsistent with due support. “If the enemy wants to fight, let it fight the fighters. Attacking civilians will inevitably be met with a response targeting civilians. “We do not threaten confrontation, but we engage in it within the boundaries we believe in, and we are ready for more if provoked further.” UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka, and the Undersecretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix on Tuesday presented an update to the UN Security Council on the implementation of Resolution 1701 in the UN Interim Force in Lebanon’s area of operations in the south of the country. Wronecka called for “a return to a cessation of hostilities on the southern Lebanese front because there is still room for diplomatic efforts to reach a solution that prevents the outbreak of a wider conflict.” She added: “Returning to relative calm and stability is no longer sufficient. Rather, a political process based on the full implementation of Resolution 1701 and aimed at addressing the root causes of the conflict and ensuring long-term stability has become necessary.” Discussions were held in the UN Security Council on Friday on a US-sponsored resolution for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip which, if approved, was expected to include Lebanon. Russia and China vetoed the resolution which supported “an immediate and sustained ceasefire” in Gaza, calling the measure ambiguous.