US assured Lebanon that Israel would ease Beirut strikes, Lebanese prime minister says

BEIRUT (Reuters) - U.S. officials assured Lebanon that Israel would tamp down its strikes on Beirut and its southern suburbs, Lebanon's caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati said on Tuesday.

"During our contacts with the American authorities last week, we received a kind of guarantee to reduce the escalation in the southern suburbs and Beirut," Mikati said in a written statement distributed by his office.

He did not provide further details on the assurances but said that Washington was "serious about pressuring Israel to reach a ceasefire".

Israel has not struck the southern suburbs of Lebanon's capital since late last week after hitting the area on a near nightly basis for weeks in attacks that destroyed buildings and killed scores of people. A number of senior figures from Hezbollah have been targeted in the area, including leader Hassan Nasrallah killed in a massive strike on Sept. 27.

Mikati said international efforts were still underway to reach a ceasefire that would put an end to hostilities between the Israeli military and Hezbollah.

The hostilities had been playing out along Lebanon's southern border with Israel since October last year in parallel with Israel's offensive in Gaza that was triggered by Hamas' attack on southern Israel.

Israel dramatically escalated its bombing campaign of Lebanon in recent weeks, including Hezbollah's strongholds of south Lebanon, the southern suburbs of Beirut and the eastern Bekaa region. Other areas of Lebanon have also been hit.

(Reporting by Maya Gebeily; Editing by Peter Graff)