(zaman.com) - Concerned about the escalation of violence in the Middle East, the United States called on Israel to exercise restraint, the AFP reported.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and White House national security adviser Stephen Hadley supported UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's initiative to send a three-person team to the region to try to resolve the crisis, reports Trend.
"I think it doesn't help to speculate on, kind of, apocalyptic scenarios. What we have to do is we have to work day by day and hour by hour and that's what we are doing," Rice said at an urgent late night meeting, according to the AFP.
Asserting that Israel "understands" the need for restraint, both Rice and Hadley believe "Israel has the right to defend itself.
According to the AFP, both officials have requested allies to pressure Hezbollah and Hamas, underlining that violence was especially bad for the fragile Lebanese government.
"This is one more challenge they do not need," said Hadley at a joint briefing with Rice.
"Remember how this began, with Hamas and Hezbollah. We need to pressure Hezbollah and we encourage all those who have a line and have influence with Hezbollah to use that influence," said Hadley.
"It is especially important for Lebanon that Israeli actions not undermine a new fledgling democratic government which obviously has its problems, in that it has within it Hezbollah which is the source of these attacks," said Rice, according to the AFP.
"Nobody wants to make that worse, because ultimately the best chance for peace is going to be a democracy in Lebanon in which Syrian forces stay out," she added.
"We just continue to ask that the Israelis exercise restraint, be concerned about civilian casualties… [and] civilian infrastructure," said Rice.
The time is right, I think, to get the President involved in talking to some of his counterparts, to try and help ensure the success of that effort as we try and take a very difficult situation and put it in a different place," said Hadley, according to the AFP.