Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told the army to continue fighting “with full force” and did not respond to yesterday’s call for a ceasefire, his office said on Thursday, the BBC reported, after earlier media reports said he had given the green light for a ceasefire with Lebanon. militia Hezbollah.
The N12 television station reported earlier on Thursday, citing an unnamed employee of Netanyahu’s office, that Israel had reportedly given the green light to a ceasefire with Hezbollah to negotiate a more permanent deal.
“The news about the truce is not true. It is a US-French proposal, to which the Prime Minister did not even respond. The news about the alleged order to reduce the fighting in the north is also contrary to the truth,” Netanyahu’s office announced in response to the proposal by 12 international allies who advocated for a ceasefire agreement.
The UK has joined the US, France and a range of allies in calling for an immediate temporary ceasefire in Lebanon, warning that the escalation of violence between Israel and Hezbollah is “intolerable”.
In a joint statement, the 12-member bloc calls for a 21-day ceasefire “in order to ensure space for diplomacy in the direction of reaching a diplomatic solution”, as well as a ceasefire in Gaza.
“The prime minister ordered the (Israel Defense Forces) IDF to continue fighting with full force and according to the plans presented to him. Also, the fighting in Gaza will continue until all war objectives are achieved,” Netanyahu’s office added.
The IDF said in a statement on Thursday that it was continuing to attack Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, but did not provide further details.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Thursday rejected a proposal for a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon, after the US and France called for a 21-day truce to allow a diplomatic solution to be reached.
“There will be no truce in the north. We will continue to fight against the Hezbollah terrorist organization with all our might until victory and the safe return of residents to their homes in the north,” he said on the X social platform.
The cross-border exchange of fire between Hezbollah and the Israeli military began after the start of the war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas, triggered by the Palestinian Islamist movement’s October 7 attack on Israeli territory.
Clashes intensified after a wave of Hezbollah communications device explosions early last week that killed 39 people and wounded 2,931, according to Lebanese authorities, Hina writes.
