[NAHARNET] U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein is seeking an agreement through which both the Lebanese and Israeli sides can "appear victorious," an informed source said in remarks to Kuwait’s al-Anbaa newspaper, quoting Western diplomats.
"One of the exits that he is looking for would be a balanced, mutual retreat from both sides of the border by Hezbollah’s fighters and the Israeli army with U.S. guarantees and an active role for the U.N. forces," the daily said.
Hezbollah since October has traded almost daily cross-border fire from Leb
...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
with the Israeli army in support of Paleostinian ally Hamas
 ..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
The cross-border violence since October 8 has killed nearly 500 people in Lebanon, mostly fighters but also including 95 civilians, according to an AFP tally.
On the Israeli side, at least 29 people have been killed, the majority of them soldiers, according to Israeli authorities. 
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