Netanyahu rejects US-French call for 21-day ceasefire in conflict with Hezbollah

“It is an American-French proposal, which the prime minister has not even responded to,” read a statement from Netanyahu’s office. It further emphasized that the Prime Minister had instructed the Israeli military “to continue the fighting with full force.”

The joint proposal, issued by the United States, the European Union, and several Arab states, called for a three-week ceasefire following intense Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah positions in Lebanon that have resulted in hundreds of casualties and displaced tens of thousands of people.

The joint statement, issued by US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, and other international leaders, described the situation in Lebanon as “intolerable” and asserted that it “is in nobody’s interest, neither of the people of Israel nor of the people of Lebanon.”

The statement urged an “immediate 21-day ceasefire across the Lebanon-Israel border to provide space for diplomacy towards the conclusion of a diplomatic settlement.”

This appeal was seconded by Western powers, Japan, and prominent Gulf states such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, during discussions held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The call for a temporary ceasefire followed remarks by Israeli army chief Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, who on Wednesday instructed soldiers to be ready for a possible ground offensive against Hezbollah.

Over the past week, Israeli airstrikes targeting Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon have led to significant casualties, while the militant group has retaliated with rocket barrages and claimed to have launched a ballistic missile aimed at Tel Aviv.