Jerusalem:
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that his government had not responded to a demand by the United States and its allies for a 21-day ceasefire in Israel’s battle with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
“This is an American-French proposal to which the prime minister has not even responded,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement, adding that he had ordered the army to “continue the battle 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 against Hezbollah killed hundreds and displaced tens of thousands in Lebanon this week.
The situation in Lebanon has become “intolerable” and “is not in anyone’s interest, neither the people of Israel nor the people of Lebanon,” said a joint statement by US President Joe Biden, his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and other allies.
“We call for an immediate 21-day ceasefire across the Lebanese-Israeli border to provide space for diplomacy to reach a diplomatic agreement.”
The statement was issued jointly by Western powers, Japan and key Gulf Arab powers – Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – as the leaders met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
The call for a three-week ceasefire came hours after Israeli army chief Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi on Wednesday told soldiers to prepare for a possible ground offensive against Hezbollah.
Israel’s aerial bombardment of Hezbollah strongholds around Lebanon killed hundreds of people this week, while the militant group hit back with barrage rockets and said a ballistic missile was aimed at Tel Aviv.
(Except for the headline, this story was not edited by NDTV staff and was published by a syndicated channel.)
