Jerusalem:
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that his government has not responded to a plea from the United States and its allies for a 21-day ceasefire in Israel’s battle with the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
“It is an American-French proposal, which the prime minister has not even responded to,” a statement from Netanyahu’s office said, adding that he had ordered the army to “continue the fight with full force.”
The United States, the European Union and other allies, including several Arab states, have issued a joint call for a 21-day ceasefire in Lebanon after Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah this week killed hundreds of people and left tens of thousands drove away.
The situation in Lebanon has become “unbearable” and “is in no one’s interest, neither of the people of Israel nor of the people of Lebanon,” according to a joint statement from US President Joe Biden, his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and other allies . .
“We call for an immediate 21-day ceasefire across the Lebanon-Israel border to allow room for diplomacy towards a diplomatic settlement.”
The statement was issued jointly by Western powers, Japan and the main Arab Gulf powers – Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – as the leaders met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The call for a three-week ceasefire came hours after Israeli army chief Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi told soldiers on Wednesday to prepare for a possible ground offensive against Hezbollah.
Israeli aerial bombardments of Hezbollah strongholds around Lebanon have killed hundreds of people this week, while the militant group has hit back with a barrage of rockets and said a ballistic missile was aimed at Tel Aviv.
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