President Shimon Peres said the situation in Lebanon was a tragedy and voiced hope that the citizens of Lebanon would find a way to avert bloodshed at the last minute.

The latest developments, Peres said, were "not a big surprise." It was well known that Hizbullah was about to split Lebanon and lead it into civil war, he said.

"The events have nothing to do with Israel, this is an internal Lebanese matter," Peres added.