US President Donald Trump said that Israel's attack on Beirut's southern suburbs on Sunday "should not have happened".

"Israel has the right to defend itself against threats, but the attack it was responding to was very small and meaningless, nobody was hurt, injured, or killed, and should not disrupt this important process," he wrote in a post

The US president demanded that there should be "no more attacks by Israel anywhere in Lebanon, but there should also be no more attacks by any other party, including Hezbollah, against Israel".

Trump also added that Washington is "very close" to a deal in the Middle East that would "bring peace to the region, including to Lebanon".

"This could be the beginning of a long and beautiful peace — Let’s not blow it!"