The United States, France and some of their allies have called for an immediate 21-day ceasefire across the Israel-Lebanon border saying the situation is “intolerable”.
The joint statement, negotiated on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, says the recent fighting “presents an unacceptable risk of a broader regional escalation.”
“Thus we call for an immediate 21 day ceasefire across the Lebanon-Israel border to provide space for diplomacy towards the conclusion of a diplomatic settlement,” it added.
The statement came from the US, Australia, Canada, the EU, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
A senior US official told reporters a three week pause would hopefully also open up space for potential for a ceasefire in Gaza.
“We have had those discussions for quite some time,” the official said, adding Washington and its allies were aiming to convert those discussions into a broader agreement during the period.
The deal was crystallized by late Wednesday afternoon during a conversation on the sidelines of the General Assembly between Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron, a US official said.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told the UN Security Council during a meeting that “we are counting on both parties to accept it without delay.”
Barrot said France, a former colonial power to Lebanon, and the US had consulted with the sides on “final parameters for a diplomatic way out of this crisis,” adding that “war is not unavoidable.”
US deputy ambassador to the UN Robert Wood encouraged the council to support the diplomatic efforts but didn’t offer specifics about the plan.
“We are working with other countries on a proposal that we hope will lead to calm and enable discussions to a diplomatic solution,” he said.
The hostilities between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah group have raised fears of a regional war. Israel widened its airstrikes in Lebanon on Wednesday and killed dozens.
On Wednesday, Hezbollah fired a missile towards Tel Aviv for the first time and Israel responded by launching “extensive strikes” on a reported 280 Hezbollah positions throughout Lebanon.
The Israeli army said it was calling up “two reserve brigades for operational missions in the northern arena”.
“This will enable the continuation of combat against the Hezbollah terrorist organisation,” it said.
Fifty-one people have been killed in the Israeli strikes on Lebanon, the country’s health ministry has said.
