Israel rejects ceasefire proposal

JERUSALEM: Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Thursday rejected proposals for a ceasefire with Hezbollah after the United States and France called for a 21-day halt in the fighting that has alarmed Lebanon and raised fears of a ground invasion.

“There will be no ceasefire in the north. We will continue to fight against the Hezbollah terrorist organization with all our strength until victory and the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes,” he said in a statement on the social media platform X.

He dashed hopes for a peaceful settlement after Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati had expressed hope that a ceasefire could be reached soon.

The United States, France and several allies called for the immediate 21-day ceasefire across the Israel-Lebanon border while also expressing support for a ceasefire in Gaza following intense discussions at the United Nations on Wednesday.

The ceasefire would provide the space necessary for talks regarding a diplomatic settlement akin to UN Security Council Resolution 1701 which ended the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006.

The plan was constructed at the United Nations General Assembly earlier in the week in New York.

The plan was endorsed by the US, Australia, Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.

A joint statement said “the situation between Lebanon and Israel since October 8, 2023 is intolerable and presents an unacceptable risk of a broader regional escalation.”

“It’s important this war not widen,” said President Joe Biden on Wednesday. US officials were optimistic that both Israel and Hezbollah would agree.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, heading to New York to address the United Nations, said he had not yet given his response to the truce proposal and had instructed the army to fight on. Hardliners in his government said Israel should reject the truce and keep hitting Hezbollah.

Meanwhile there was no let-up in violence. Israeli airstrikes overnight hit around 75 Hezbollah targets in the Bekaa Valley and southern Lebanon, including weapons storage facilities and ready-to-fire launchers, the Israeli military said on Thursday.

In the latest deadly strike, at least 23 Syrians, most of them women and children, were killed when Israel hit a three-story building in the Lebanese town of Younine overnight, the town’s mayor, Ali Qusas, told Reuters. Lebanon is home to around 1.5 million Syrians who fled civil war there.

The Israeli military said dozens of Hezbollah targets were attacked, including terrorists, military buildings and weapons depots, in several areas on Thursday morning.

Around 45 projectiles were fired from Lebanon towards the western Galilee area, some of which were intercepted with the rest falling on open ground, said the Israeli military.

Netanyahu repeated pledges to ensure that tens of thousands of Israelis evacuated from northern border areas can return home. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who heads one of two nationalist-religious factions in the governing coalition, said Hezbollah should be crushed and that only its surrender would make it possible for the evacuees to return.

Mikati welcomed the call for a truce but said the key to its implementation was whether Israel, which has been moving troops closer to Lebanon, is committed to enforcing international resolutions.

Asked if a ceasefire could be secured soon, Mikati told Reuters: “Hopefully, yes.”

Mikati’s caretaker administration includes ministers chosen by Hezbollah, widely seen as the country’s most powerful political force.

TURKEY PREPARING FOR EVACUATION

Turkey is preparing for the possible evacuation of its citizens and foreign nationals from Lebanon, as cross-border fire between Israel and militant group Hezbollah continues there, a Turkish defence ministry source said on Thursday.

The military has the “capability and resources to carry out any mission assigned to it for the safe evacuation of our citizens or foreign nationals from Lebanon,” the source said during a briefing.

“Preliminary planning and preparations for a potential evacuation operation are being made,” the person said, adding Turkey had successfully completed such operations before and was closely following developments in Lebanon.

Israel widened its airstrikes in Lebanon on Wednesday and at least 72 people were killed, according to a Reuters compilation of Lebanese health ministry statements. Several allies, including the United States and France, also called for an immediate 21-day ceasefire across the Israel-Lebanon border.