Ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s anticipated speech to the UN General Assembly on Friday, Israel rejected a request by allies for a 21-day ceasefire in Lebanon and promised to continue fighting Hezbollah militants “until victory”.
This week, hundreds of people have been killed by Israeli bombings on Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon, which is supported by Iran. In response, the terrorist group has launched rocket barrages.
Following a meeting between French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Joe Biden on the fringes of the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, the US, France, and other allies announced the 21-day truce.
On Thursday, however, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu categorically rejected the idea of a ceasefire and gave the military orders to “fight with full force.”
The White House said that the truce proposal had required “a lot of care and effort” and expressed irritation over its rejection.
National Security spokesperson John Kirby stated in a statement on Thursday, “We wouldn’t have made that statement, we wouldn’t have worked on that if we didn’t have reason to believe that the conversations that we were having with the Israelis in particular, were supportive of the goal there.”
Later, Macron warned that Netanyahu’s refusal to accept a ceasefire was “a mistake” and that he would have to accept “responsibility” for a regional escalation.
Speaking in Canada, where he had a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was also in favor of the ceasefire, Macron mentioned that Netanyahu had personally drafted the ceasefire proposal.
