Lebanon's top Christian cleric urged state officials on Monday to shield Lebanon from the war between Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and Israel, as the Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah clashes with Israeli forces at the border. The Iran-backed Hezbollah has been exchanging fire with Israeli forces across the Lebanese-Israeli frontier since the Hamas-Israel war began on Oct. 7, in the worst fighting there since Hezbollah and Israel fought a war in 2006.