Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has 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 organisation with all our strength until victory and the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes," he said on Thursday 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.
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 air strikes 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.
