WASHINGTON, Feb 15 — The United States yesterday called for diplomacy to resolve tensions on Lebanon after Israeli strikes on its northern neighbour.

"We continue to believe that there is a diplomatic path forward and we will continue to push forward to try to resolve this issue diplomatically,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

"We continue to be concerned about escalation in Lebanon,” he said. "One of our primary objectives from the outset of this conflict is to see that it not be widened.”

The Israeli military said Wednesday that a soldier was killed in rocket fire from Lebanon, while Lebanese official media said three civilians and a Hezbollah fighter were killed in a series of Israeli strikes.

The violence comes after near daily but usually not lethal cross-border fire between Israel and the Iranian-backed Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah.

The United States and France have been pushing a plan that hopes to keep Lebanon out of the Israel-Hamas conflict, including by bolstering Lebanon’s fledgling national forces. — AFP