Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed his country’s military to continue “fighting with full force” against Lebanon, rejecting international calls for a ceasefire with Hezbollah.
The comments came hours after the US and France proposed a 21-day ceasefire deal between Israel and the Lebanon-based militant group to make way for broader negotiations.
“This is an American-French proposal that the prime minister has not even responded to,” Netanyahu’s office said on Thursday. It also dismissed a separate report alleging that the Israeli leader had told troops to “moderate” their assault on Hezbollah to pave the way for a possible ceasefire discussion.
“The report about the purported directive to ease up on the fighting in the north is the opposite of the truth,” Netanyahu’s office said. “The prime minister has directed the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] to continue fighting with full force.”