Israeli prime minister denies accepting Lebanon cease-fire proposal

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied media reports Thursday that he agreed to a temporary cease-fire with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“This is an American-French proposal that the prime minister hasn’t even responded to,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.

The US, EU, and nine other nations called on Israel and Hezbollah late Wednesday to agree to a 21-day cease-fire amid an escalation in their cross-border warfare.

Israeli Channel 12 reported early Thursday that Netanyahu has greenlighted a temporary cease-fire in Lebanon to pave the way for negotiations with Hezbollah.

The Israeli premier also dismissed reports that he had asked the army to tone down its airstrikes in Lebanon, reiterating that he has ordered the military to keep striking with full force.

As for the Israeli war on Gaza, Netanyahu insisted that fighting in the Palestinian enclave “will continue until all the goals of the war are achieved.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz also rejected any cease-fire in Lebanon.

“We will continue to fight the Hezbollah terror group with full force until victory and the return of residents of the north to their homes safely,” Katz said.

Israel has pounded Lebanon since Monday morning, killing at least 610 people and injuring 2,000 others, according to figures released by the Health Ministry.

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border clashes since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed nearly 41,500 people, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by Hamas last Oct. 7.

The international community has warned against the strikes on Lebanon, as they raise the specter of spreading the Gaza conflict regionally.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar