Israel-Hezbollah Conflict: Israel Rejects Ceasefire Amid Escalating Tensions

Israel-Hezbollah Conflict

Israeli Foreign Minister rejects multinational ceasefire proposal on Israel-Lebanon border, vows to continue fighting

The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has intensified following a Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, leading to significant casualties on both sides and escalating tensions in the region. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz rejected a multinational ceasefire proposal aimed at halting hostilities, emphasizing Israel’s commitment to defeating Hezbollah to ensure the safety of northern Israeli residents.

The Israeli military has conducted extensive airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, resulting in substantial casualties, while Lebanon’s Prime Minister condemned these actions as violations of sovereignty. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an end to hostilities, warning of catastrophic consequences if the conflict escalates further. Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation in Lebanon is deteriorating, with hospitals overwhelmed and increasing civilian suffering.

Key Concepts

• Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz rejected a ceasefire proposal aimed at halting the conflict with Hezbollah.
• The Israeli military conducted precision airstrikes on Beirut, targeting Hezbollah-related areas.
• Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office confirmed the continuation of military operations without responding to the ceasefire proposal.
• An international coalition, including several countries, has called for a ceasefire to prevent regional escalation.
• French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot plans to visit Beirut to seek a diplomatic resolution.
• Recent Israeli airstrikes have resulted in significant casualties, with over 600 reported deaths in a short period.
• U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of catastrophic consequences if hostilities continue.
• The conflict escalated following a Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, leading to increased tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border.
• Hezbollah has launched thousands of rockets into northern Israel, claiming solidarity with Hamas.
• Iranian officials have expressed support for Lebanon amidst the ongoing conflict.
• The Gaza war has resulted in approximately 1,200 Israeli deaths and significant Palestinian casualties, with over 41,400 reported killed in Gaza.
• There are indications that a potential solution could emerge from the ongoing violence and high death tolls in the region.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Thursday rejected a proposal for a ceasefire on the Israel-Lebanon border, hours after the European Union, the United States, France and eight other countries called for a 21-day halt to fighting.

“We will continue to fight the Hezbollah terrorist organization with all our strength until victory is achieved and the residents of the north can safely return to their homes,” Katz said on the social media platform X.

The Israeli military later said it was carrying out precision strikes on the Lebanese capital Beirut, where explosions were heard and smoke was seen rising from a southern suburb of Beirut believed to be the heartland of Hezbollah.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he had not responded to the ceasefire proposal and instructed the Israeli military to continue fighting “with all its might.”

The ceasefire proposal was made in a statement late on Wednesday that said the conflict between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group “is intolerable and poses an unacceptable risk of escalation in the wider region.”

The multinational statement said a ceasefire would allow the parties to negotiate a diplomatic solution in line with U.N. Security Council resolutions calling for an end to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, as well as a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.

Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar joined the ceasefire call, which said a wider regional conflict was “not in the interests of anyone, neither the Israeli people nor the Lebanese people”.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told the Security Council earlier on Wednesday that he would travel to Beirut later this week to work with local stakeholders on a diplomatic solution to the conflict.

These latest developments follow some of the deadliest days in Lebanon since the end of its civil war in the early 1990s.

The Israeli military said on Thursday it had carried out airstrikes on 75 Hezbollah targets in southern and eastern Lebanon and was continuing to launch new attacks. The Israeli military said Israel had also detected about 45 projectiles launched from Lebanon into its territory.

Lebanon’s state-run news agency said an Israeli strike near the city of Baalbek hit a building housing Syrian workers, killing 23 people and wounding eight.

Lebanese health officials said Israeli air strikes killed 50 people on Wednesday, bringing the death toll since Monday to 615, and more than 2,000 were injured.

“Let us say with one voice to all parties: Stop the killing and destruction. Tone down the rhetoric and the threats. Step back from the brink. All-out war must be avoided at all costs. It would be a total disaster,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council on Wednesday.

Ground Invasion?

Israel’s army chief said Wednesday his forces should prepare for a possible ground invasion of Lebanon as Israeli fighter jets bombed Hezbollah militant targets for a third day. Meanwhile, Israel shot down a ballistic missile fired by Hezbollah militants at the headquarters of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency near Tel Aviv.

Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister travels to New York to attend the Security Council meeting.

“Israel is violating our sovereignty, sending their warplanes and drones through our skies; killing our civilians, including youth, women and children; destroying homes and forcing families to flee dire conditions,” said Najib Mikati. “Moreover, they are spreading terror and fear among Lebanese citizens in full view of the entire world, while the world stands by and does nothing.”

Rejecting Israel’s assertion that its strikes were targeting only Hezbollah fighters and assets, and noting that Lebanese hospitals were overwhelmed by casualties, Mikati called on the Security Council to take action.

Israel’s U.N. ambassador Danny Danon said his government was not seeking an all-out war and was open to a diplomatic solution. He said Israel was simply doing what any other country would do if its citizens were threatened.

Hezbollah shattered the relative calm along the border with Israel after a Hamas terror attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, sparked the Gaza War. Israel says Hezbollah has fired nearly 9,000 rockets at northern Israeli communities since then. The militant group says it acts in solidarity with the Palestinians and its Iran-backed ally Hamas. The fighting has killed 49 Israelis, hundreds of Lebanese and displaced tens of thousands on both sides of the border.

Israel also said it had activated its reserve forces in anticipation of a fight with Iran-backed Hezbollah militants.

“Iran will not remain indifferent if a full-scale war breaks out in Lebanon,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, also in New York for the General Assembly,
told reporters. “We stand with the Lebanese people at all costs.”

There is still a chance for diplomacy

In the U.S. capital, Washington, military officials insisted there was still time for diplomacy and de-escalation.

“We want to see a diplomatic solution, and we want to see it urgently,” said Sabrina Singh, deputy Pentagon press secretary, who also stressed that the U.S. military did not provide any intelligence or military support for Israel’s actions in Lebanon.

U.S. officials did express concern that the fighting, combined with miscalculations and mistakes, could lead to a larger, more dangerous conflict.

“An all-out war is possible,” President Joe Biden said on ABC’s “The View.”

“I also think there’s still a chance that a solution could be reached that could fundamentally transform the entire region,” he said.

The Gaza war began with a Hamas attack on southern Israel in October 2023, in which Palestinian militants killed about 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages. They still hold about 100 hostages, but a third of them are believed dead.

Israeli airstrikes and ground attacks have killed more than 41,400 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry, though the Israeli military says the death toll includes thousands of Hamas militants.

Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Britain, the European Union and other countries. Hezbollah is also a terrorist organization designated by the United States.