00:00We begin in the Middle East. The United States says it's working to prevent the conflict between Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah
00:07from escalating into a regional war after Sunday's heavy bombardments.
00:12The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has called for an immediate end to hostilities on both sides.
00:19In a televised address, Hezbollah's Secretary-General, Hassan Nasrallah, said that the delay in the retaliation attack
00:26for the assassination of its military commander last month was to keep Israel on edge.
00:32He also said they still have to assess the impact of its barrage and did not rule out another strike.
00:38From Tel Aviv, Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel's airstrikes were not the end of the story
00:44and added they had destroyed thousands of Hezbollah's short-range rockets.
00:48And no progress on the Gaza ceasefire talks in Cairo either.
00:53Hamas, which has now left the Egyptian capital, said it rejected new Israeli conditions
00:58and accused them of backtracking on promises.
01:01Israel denies changing its demands since a last round of talks in early July.
01:07For more on this, we can speak to our Middle East correspondent in Beirut, Hugo Bocega.
01:12So Hugo, we heard that Hezbollah isn't ruling out further attacks.
01:16Benjamin Netanyahu saying it's not the end of the story. Where are we?
01:23Yeah, I think it was very interesting that last night the powerful leader of Hezbollah,
01:27Hassan Nasrallah, gave that speech.
01:30Essentially he said that the attack was over, the retaliation for the killing of Fouad Shouker,
01:35the senior Hezbollah commander who was assassinated by Israel here in Beirut a month ago.
01:42And Hassan Nasrallah also said that, gave indications that no major operations against
01:49Israel were being planned. So I think he was trying to de-escalate tensions with Israel.
01:55Yesterday there were concerns that those attacks could lead to a major conflict between Hezbollah
02:03and Israel. We've seen that so far this violence has been relatively contained
02:08to areas along the Lebanon-Israel border.
02:12Nasrallah did say that the group could attack Israel again, but given everything else in the
02:18speech, I think this seemed to be something that had to be said, rather than a threat against
02:25Israel. And the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also yesterday said that what happened
02:32was not the end of the story. And again, I don't think it's surprising that he's saying it.
02:37He needs to keep all his options on the table. He's under a lot of pressure to act against
02:43Hezbollah to allow the return of tens of thousands of residents who've been displaced from
02:50communities in northern Israel. But behind the scenes, there have been indications that
02:55both sides have said they're not interested in further escalation. Obviously, this doesn't mean
03:02that the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel is over. But again, we're seeing indications that
03:08they're not interested in a major conflict that could have catastrophic consequences,
03:13not only for Lebanon, but also for Israel. And the main hope of a de-escalation here
03:20is a ceasefire deal in Gaza. And we've seen that the latest round of talks for a deal
03:26in Cairo ended yesterday without a major breakthrough.
03:30So what's the state of alert there then, Hugo, in light of the recent events?
03:38Yes. So for weeks, we've been waiting for this response by Hezbollah. And there were concerns
03:46that this could lead to a major escalation. And there have been fears here in Lebanon that
03:52Hezbollah could be dragging this country into another confrontation with Israel.
03:58Many people here still remember what happened in 2006, the war between Hezbollah and Israel,
04:04the devastation caused by the conflict, not only to areas of southern Lebanon,
04:09but also to parts of southern Beirut. And many people fear that history might be
04:15repeating itself. It seems now that a worst-case scenario has been averted, at least for now.
04:21There have been these indications from Hassan Nasrallah that the group is not interested
04:25in an escalation of these hostilities with Israel. And even in Israel, we're seeing that
04:33there have been some signs that the Israeli government is also trying to prevent a major
04:39escalation with Hezbollah. But again, there has been a lot of anger from residents in the north
04:47of the country. They say that they have been under attack almost every day with rockets being fired
04:54from Hezbollah. And they've been urging the Israeli authorities to do something to push
05:01Hezbollah away from the border and to allow the return of tens of thousands of people who have
05:06had to flee their homes in northern Israel because of this violence happening along the border.
05:11Okay. Hugo Bocega in Beirut, thank you very much. Well, for more, let's speak to Yossi
05:16Boleyn, former Justice Minister of Israel and one of the initiators of Israel-Palestine-Oslo
05:22peace accords. Thanks very much for your time here on BBC News. Let's pick up with those peace talks
05:26then. In light of what's happened, is there any chance of those talks having a positive outcome?
05:36Yes, I believe that Israel doesn't want to continue this war. It is really long overdue.
05:43And I hope that this is also the situation on the Hamas side. The point is that it is
05:50not peace talks, of course. It is talks about a ceasefire, hopefully a long ceasefire.
05:58And the other side is not recognizing Israel. Israel is not recognizing Hamas, of course.
06:06And to get to the decision makers on the other side is very difficult. So what you hear is
06:13is rumors from time to time or a declaration of one of the Hamas people. But the groups are there.
06:26I mean, the teams are there negotiating still. And I hope that it will end by an agreement.
06:36This agreement is not going to be an historic one, but it will put an end at least
06:42to the current situation whereby people, innocent people are killed and you don't see any horizon.
06:53The U.S. is saying it's working to prevent any conflict escalating. What can they do to move
07:01on these peace talks? Well, they are doing a lot. They are actually the main player,
07:08not the only one, because you have Qatar and you have Egypt. But it is a very important player.
07:15And I think that they can push the parties directly, indirectly. They have their own ways.
07:25And I hope that eventually reason will prevail and it will be possible to put an end to it.
07:32I mean, we are there in a kind of an ongoing war from September, October, the massacre of Hamas
07:41in the southern part of Israel. And nobody is gaining anything from this war, just losing.
07:52We know, obviously, the elections in the United States are coming up.
07:56Presumably, Netanyahu will be watching those closely.
07:58And?
08:06I was just saying that with the elections in the U.S. coming up,
08:10Netanyahu will presumably be watching those very closely to see what happens.
08:16Yeah, but I don't think that this is going to have any direct impact. First of all, the
08:23the elections are very close, but the 20th of January is further and we have to put an end
08:35to this situation much before. I think that waiting for the 20th of January and hopefully
08:42Netanyahu's candidate will not win. But even if he wins, I think that waiting for him is a
08:52is a kind of betting, because you never know with this person. I mean, Trump, of course.
08:59What is he going to do? What is he going to say? He may surprise the world this way or another,
09:05if God forbid, he is elected. And if it is, as I hope, Kamala Harris,
09:15it will be the same kind of a policy, like the current policy of President Biden.
09:22OK, we'll have to leave it there. Yossi Bellin, thank you very much for your time here on BBC News.
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