The EU foreign policy chief’s comments came as Lebanese Shiite terrorist group  Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets at northern Israel from Lebanon on Saturday.

‘’It is imperative to avoid a regional escalation in the Middle East, it is absolutely necessary to avoid Lebanon being dragged into a regional conflict. This is the last thing Lebanon needs,’’ said EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell after meeting Sunday  in Beirut with Lebanese Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, Abdallah Bou Habib.

‘’ I think that the war can be prevented, has to be avoided and diplomacy can prevail to look for a better solution,’’ he said in remarks tot he press.

Already now more than 70,000 civilians have already been displaced in Lebanon, 200,000 in northern Israel. Almost 50,000 olive trees have been burnt in the border. Imagine, 50,000 olive trees; I am coming from a country where olive trees are very much important, so I understand how important it can be [to lose]50,000 olive trees.  Nobody stands to win from a regional conflict. And I am sending this message to Israel too. Nobody will win from a regional conflict,’’ Borrell added.

He said he was in Lebanon ‘’to take stock of the situation and to contribute to a way out of the crisis.’’ ‘’I repeat what you have said Minister: diplomatic channels have to be open to signal that the war is not the only option, it is the worst option, and to keep working on a diplomatic solution. It is the whole international community that has to work for a change in the Middle East.’’

The EU foreign policy chief’s comments came as Lebanese Shiite terrorist group  Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets at northern Israel from Lebanon on Saturday.

Hezbollah said that the barrage was an “initial response” to the killing of a top Hamas leader in Beirut this week. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hezbollah,  said his group must retaliate for the killing of Saleh Arouri, the deputy political leader of Hamas, in Dariyeh, a Hezbollah stronghold south of Beirut.

Borrell stressed that ‘’we cannot continue with the deplorable, awful, track record of the last year, or of the last decades. We have to move towards an end of the suffering of civilians in Gaza and to the release of the hostages.’’

He continued,  ‘’we must redouble our efforts to relaunch the Peace Process. Israel has declared a goal to eradicate Hamas. There must be another way to eradicate Hamas; another way that [does not] creates so many innocent people being killed. The only way is the creation of a Palestinian State offering an horizon of hope to the Palestinians. That is why 172 countries has voted in favour [of this] at the United Nations General Assembly – this is 90% of all United Nations Member States. We will not spare efforts to finally make the two-state solution a reality.’’

After Lebanon, Borrell is to visit Saudi Arabia on Monday. ‘’I look forward to a substantive discussion on how we can build on our joint European Union-Arab initiative, the concrete steps that could galvanise a serious international peace effort.’’

He is also expected to address the escalation in the Red Sea.