Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told Israel’s military to keep fighting with “full force” despite calls for a ceasefire from the US and the UK.
Speaking as he landed in New York to attend the annual UN General Assembly meeting, he said Israel’s “policy is clear”.
“We are continuing to strike Hezbollah with full force. And we will not stop until we reach all our goals, chief among them the return of the residents of the north securely to their homes.”
He added that he approved the “targeted killing operation” of the head of Hezbollah’s drone unit in south Beirut Thursday.
Israel has dramatically escalated strikes in Lebanon this week, killing 696 people, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
Israeli leaders have said they are determined to stop more than 11-months of cross-border fire by the militant group into Israel, which has forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of Israelis from communities in the north.
Hezbollah, who are closely allied with Hamas, say they will not stop firing rockets into Israel until they stop its assault on Palestinians in Gaza.
Earlier in the day, a strike in eastern Lebanon killed 20 people, most of them Syrian migrants, according to Lebanese health officials, while two people were killed and 15 were wounded after an Israeli airstrike hit an apartment building in a southern suburb of Beirut.
The Israel Defense Force said the strike killed a Hezbollah drone commander, Mohammed Hussein Surour.
Lebanon’s health ministry said at least 92 people were killed by Israeli air strikes Thursday, while there were no deaths from Hezbollah fire were reported in Israel.
It comes as a ceasefire proposal put forward by 12 international allies on Wednesday, with countries advocating for a 21-day halt in fighting between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah to give time for negotiations and prevent a further escalation and possible Israeli ground invasion.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the US had “every reason to believe” that the Israeli government was willing to consider a cease-fire across its border with Lebanon.
Speaking to reporters, Kirby declined to detail what changed between that point and Thursday morning when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to reject the cease-fire proposal and pledged further efforts to weaken Hezbollah’s military capacity.
“I think you ought to ask that question to Prime Minister Netanyahu,” he said.
Britain’s defense secretary has echoed the calls of the US for a pause in Israel’s conflict with Hezbollah.
“I urge President Netanyahu and the Lebanese Hezbollah leaders to pay heed to the combined voices at the United Nations to do just that,” John Healey said after a meeting with his US and Australian counterparts in London.
Healey said his country has sent 700 troops to Cyprus to assist in a potential emergency evacuation of civilians in Lebanon should a full war break out.
An Israeli air force commander told troops earlier that they should be “prepared” to support a “ground manoeuvre” into Lebanon
Speaking during the second day of his visit to New York, Prime Minister Keir Starmer reiterated calls for a ceasefire.
He warned that allowing an escalation of the conflict would lead to “the prospect of a wider war that no one can control, and with consequences that none of us can foresee”.
“Together, in all our interests, we can change direction from the dangerous, destructive path we find ourselves on. And turn instead towards the rule of law, towards cooperation, responsibility and progress. Towards peace,” he said.
