GS Paper - II
Israel on 26 September 2024 ruled out a ceasefire proposal with Hezbollah in Lebanon, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office calling the news about truce “false”, while asserting that this was an American-French proposal, to which the prime minister has not even responded.
What
- It said that, on the contrary, “the prime minister instructed the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to continue the fighting with full force”.
- Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz also rejected the proposal, which called for a 21-day ceasefire in Lebanon.
- Over 600 people have been killed and thousands wounded in Lebanon since Israel began an intense bombing campaign last week.
- Netanyahu, preparing to address the United National General Assembly, also issued a statement saying he had ordered the military to maintain full-force operations as planned.
- Shortly after, the Israeli military launched a new wave of airstrikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.
- The ceasefire request from the US and France, along with other allies, aims to create a 21-day pause along the Israel-Lebanon “Blue Line” to allow room for diplomatic negotiations.
- However, Israel has continued its heaviest airstrikes on Lebanon since the 2006 war, killing hundreds as cross-border violence with Hezbollah threatens to escalate into an all-out war.
- Hezbollah has fired hundreds of missiles into Israel, including at Tel Aviv, though Israel’s aerial defense system has managed to limit the damage.
- Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire since 7 October 2023, the day after Hamas launched its initial attack on southern Israeli communities.
