Are the Lebanese people caught in the crossfire of a war they didn't ask for?

The prospects of an Israeli ground incursion in Lebanon have reached their peak, and even a temporary ceasefire seems a distant echo after Israel rejected the deal and Hezbollah remains reluctant to turn away its missile launchpads.

While the number of civilian casualties is surging, Lebanon's public services are teetering on collapse, especially after years of financial and economic crises that have put the country's finances on its knees.

Thousands of people are leaving their villages in the south and the Bekaa Valley to find shelter in the provinces of Beirut, the Lebanese mountains, and the north.

Right now, the general sentiment in Lebanon is that one can only hope for an 11th-hour miracle.

"Lebanese people want peace," Health Minister Firass Abiad told Euronews. "The position of the Lebanese government, and the position of the Lebanese people as well, is that Lebanon does not want war."

"And from day one, we believe that the best way out of this situation is to have a diplomatic solution, starting with a cease fire in Gaza and the immediate release of the (Israeli) hostages."

"It is clear that violence is not going to bring us closer to a solution, yet unfortunately, it will make the situation worse," Abiad pointed out.

Regional and international observers are increasingly persuaded that the ceasefire will not be possible without a powerful political deal. Yet, the prospects of stopping the war seem to go well beyond the borders and the will of the sectarian-based Lebanese institutions.

Unless Israel strikes a deal with Hamas, that is.

According to observers, a humanitarian-led ceasefire in Gaza could help lower the heat threatening to inflame the entire Middle East and whose domino effect could push Lebanon to a new