Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed his country’s military to continue “fighting with full force” against Lebanon, rejecting international calls for a ceasefire with Hezbollah.
The comments came hours after the US and France proposed a 21-day ceasefire deal between Israel and the Lebanon-based militant group to make way for broader negotiations.
“This is an American-French proposal that the prime minister has not even responded to,” Netanyahu’s office said on Thursday. It also dismissed a separate report alleging that the Israeli leader had told troops to “moderate” their assault on Hezbollah to pave the way for a possible ceasefire discussion.
“The report about the purported directive to ease up on the fighting in the north is the opposite of the truth,” Netanyahu’s office said. “The prime minister has directed the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] to continue fighting with full force.”
US President Joe Biden and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York this week to discuss how “to give diplomacy a chance to succeed and avoid further escalations across the border.” They urged both Israel and Lebanon to back the truce.
“It is time for a settlement on the Israel-Lebanon border that ensures safety and security to enable civilians to return to their homes. The exchange of fire since October 7th, and in particular over the past two weeks, threatens a much broader conflict, and harm to civilians,” the joint statement said.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who welcomed the temporary ceasefire proposal, has also reportedly denied an agreement with Israel has been reached.
Israel launched a strike on Beirut on Thursday as well as a new wave of strikes on southern Lebanon, after days of attacks that killed more than 600 people and displaced hundreds of thousands.
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said “hell is breaking loose in Lebanon,” as he addressed an emergency UN Security Council session.
Israel’s war in Gaza, launched in response to a deadly Hamas raid last October, has claimed over 41,000 lives, including nearly 16,500 children, according to Palestinian health authorities. Hezbollah has supported the Palestinian cause with sporadic missile launches against Israeli military installations, triggering tit-for-tat strikes that have escalated over the past year.