The Lebanese are holding their breath as mediators try to avoid a major war

The Middle East is in turmoil. International diplomacy is in overdrive. And for once many in Israel, Lebanon and Iran have something in common – a war of nerves.

They worry and anticipate what may come next. It feels like the whole region is holding its breath.

Is this a slide towards an all-out regional war? Can a cease-fire be fought in the ruins of Gaza? How will Iran and its proxy Hezbollah take revenge on Israel for the successive killings in Beirut and Tehran? Will they listen to requests for self-control?

In Lebanon, the sweltering summer heat is covered by a layer of anxiety.

Heart-stopping sonic booms disrupt traffic in Beirut, as Israeli warplanes break the sound barrier in the skies above.

Many people from other countries have left, heeding the advice of their governments. Many Lebanese also fled.

Some just can’t tear themselves away – like the 30-year-old chef of a hip café (Beirut has more of these than you can count). He is tattooed and outspoken but prefers to remain anonymous.

“Living in Beirut is like being in a toxic relationship that you can’t escape,” he tells me.

“I am emotionally close. I have family abroad, and I could go, but I don’t want to. We live day by day. And we joke about the situation.”

In the next breath he admits that the business has suffered, and that he has post-traumatic stress disorder. He says: “It’s like a cold war for us. He is expecting a hot one but hopes it will be short.

International mediators crisscross the region, working overtime to prevent a wider conflict. US Ambassador Amos Hochstein is among them.

“We continue to believe that a political solution can be achieved,” he said, “because we continue to believe that no one really wants an all-out war between Lebanon and Israel.”

He was speaking in Beirut on Wednesday, after meeting with his close Hezbollah colleague, Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berry.

When asked by a reporter if war could be avoided, Mr. Hochstein replied: “I hope so, I believe so.” But he added that as time goes on, the chances of accidents and mistakes become greater.

The last time Israel and Hezbollah went to war, in 2006, it lasted six weeks and caused great damage and loss of life in Lebanon. More than 1,000 Lebanese were killed, along with about 200 Hezbollah fighters. Of the 160 Israelis killed, most were soldiers.

All sides agree that the new war will be more deadly and more destructive.

And many here in Lebanon agree that the country cannot afford it. The economy is in decline, and the political system is not working properly. The government can’t even turn on the lights.

“I hope there will be no war,” said Hiba Maslkhi. “Lebanon will not be able to cope with the situation.”

We meet a 35-year-old tracksuit-clad man on a slippery sidewalk in Beirut. He is focused on the Mediterranean, holding a fishing rod.

“I hope that smarter heads will prevail,” he said, “and that we can control the escalation so things don’t get out of control.”

He takes every sonic boom personally. “When I hear one, I start to panic, I wonder if there are any [Israeli forces] hit near my house or detonate bombs at the airport.”

Hiba, who sells perfume for a living, says Lebanon has suffered enough.

“Ten months is a long time for us to be mentally disturbed, to hide in our houses,” he said. “We are afraid to start businesses to get money because we think there might be a war.”

The current round of violence here began last October when Hamas gunmen came out of Gaza and killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel, most of them civilians.

Hezbollah immediately intervened, firing from Lebanon into Israel. The Shia Islamist militant group and political party – considered a terrorist organization by Britain and the US – said it was acting in support of the Palestinian people.

Since October, Hezbollah and Israel have been trading fire, causing tens of thousands to flee on both sides of their shared border, and killing more than 500 in Lebanon, most of them soldiers. Israeli officials say 40 people were killed there – 26 of them soldiers.

Fears of a wider conflict rose at the end of July, when an Israeli strike in Beirut killed a senior Hezbollah commander.

Israel has accused him of killing 12 children during a rocket attack on the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights in Syria.

It has become an all-out war in Gaza, where Israel has killed nearly 40,000 Palestinians at last count, according to figures from the Hamas health ministry – data the World Health Organization considers reliable.

Gaza is Ayman Sakr’s biggest concern. He fishes next to Heba, but their views are very different.

The 50-year-old taxi driver insists that if a serious war comes, Lebanon will face it. “There is some concern, but we can handle it,” he tells us. “In the end we will defend ourselves. If we die, it’s okay.”

He is quick to honor the hundreds of Hezbollah fighters killed by Israel, as well as the leader of the armed group.

He says: “I salute the opposition and those who were martyred from the bottom of my heart,” he said, “and I salute Hassan Nasrallah who made us and all Arabs proud.” Everyone is worried about Israel, what about the 39,000 people killed by Israel?”

Ayman, a father of five, says the fear in Gaza is undeniable, but not ignored.

“The whole world sees children, women and old women being killed every day in front of cameras and no one notices,” he said. “People’s children are being killed in front of their eyes. Where is the world? Those who are silent have a hand.”

Hiba still hopes that full-scale war can be avoided.

“No one has the right to kill anyone,” he says, “not organizations, not gangs and not the military. I hope the new generation is smarter than the one that came before it.”