Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday said that his government will continue to discuss ceasefire proposals for Lebanon in the days ahead after US president Joe Biden warned of “all out war” in the region.
Earlier on Thursday, Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz rejected proposals for a ceasefire with Hezbollah. Katz went ahead with airstrikes that have killed hundreds in Lebanon and heightened fears of a regional war.
Washington also warned that further escalation would only make it harder for civilians to return home on both sides of the border.
“The Secretary discussed the importance of reaching an agreement on the 21 day ceasefire across the Israel-Lebanon border,” Reuters reported quoting the State Department.
An Israeli strike on Friday killed nine members of a family, including four children, in the Lebanese border town of Shebaa, mayor Mohammad Saab told Reuters.
The Reuters report, citing the Lebanese health ministry, said the Israeli attacks since Monday have killed more than 600 people in the country.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah said that it fired rockets into Israel’s Kiryat Ata and Tiberias in a response to Israel’s strikes on villages, cities and civilians. It is important to note that Kiryat Ata is near the city of Haifa, some 30 km (20 miles) from the border.
The report said though many of Hezbollah’s rockets were shot down by the Israeli air defences, however, the attacks have shut down normal life across much of northern Israel as more areas fall into its crosshairs.
The Israeli defence forces further said they have intercepted four unmanned aircraft that crossed from Lebanese territory into the maritime space off the coast of Rosh Hanikra at the Lebanese border.
The US and France proposed an immediate 21-day truce across the Lebanese-Israeli border on Wednesday, and said negotiations continued, including on the sidelines of a UN meeting in New York.
Netanyahu said that Israeli teams had meetings to discuss the US ceasefire proposals on Thursday and would continue discussions in the days ahead
“Our teams met (Sept. 26) to discuss the US initiative and how we can advance the shared goal of returning people safely to their homes. We will continue those discussions in the coming days,” Reuters quoted Netanyahu as saying.
Earlier on Thursday, Netanyahu left for New York where he is attending the United Nations General Assembly.
Netanyahu’s office, in a statement said, the prime minister has ordered Israeli troops to continue fighting with full force in Lebanon. However his statementmade no reference to the comments of Foreign Minister Katz, who rejected ceasefire proposals
