Israel on Thursday rejected a US and French proposal for a ceasefire in Lebanon and continued to launch heavy airstrikes in the country.
The US and France are calling for a 21-day ceasefire, but the US continues to provide military aid to Israel and is vowing to defend Israel if the situation escalates, giving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu no incentive to stop his new bombing campaign.
Netanyahu’s office released a statement denying reports that there’s been progress on a ceasefire and vowed to continue hitting Lebanon hard and keep up the onslaught in Gaza. “The report about a ceasefire is incorrect. This is an American-French proposal that the Prime Minister has not even responded to,” the statement said.
“The report about the purported directive to ease up on the fighting in the north is the opposite of the truth. The Prime Minister has directed the IDF to continue fighting with full force, according to the plan that was presented to him. The fighting in Gaza will also continue until all the objectives of the war have been achieved,” the statement added.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz also rejected the idea of a ceasefire. “There will be no ceasefire in the north,” he wrote on X. “We will continue to fight against the terrorist organization Hezbollah with all our might until victory and the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes.”
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Thursday that overnight Israeli airstrikes in eastern Lebanon killed 20 people, almost all Syrian nationals. According to AFP, the ministry said, “Israeli enemy strike on the village of Yunin” killed “20 people, including 19 Syrian nationals.”
Israel also bombed Beirut again in a strike that targeted a residential area of the southern suburb of Dahiyeh. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said two people were killed in the strike, and 15 were wounded.
Over 620 people have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon since Monday. The Monday escalation killed over 550 people, the majority being civilians, according to Lebanese Health Minister Dr. Firass Abiad.