US, France lead joint call for immediate 21-day truce between Israel and Hezbollah
Multiple countries sign on statement urging diplomatic settlement; Israel and Lebanon expected to give answers in coming hours; Iran vows to back Hezbollah to the hilt
The United States, France, and some of their allies called for an immediate 21-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah while also expressing support for a truce in Gaza, according to a joint statement of the countries released by the White House Wednesday following an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Lebanon.
“The situation between Lebanon and Israel since October 8th, 2023, is intolerable and presents an unacceptable risk of a broader regional escalation,” said the statement, citing the date Hezbollah began launching attacks on northern Israeli communities and military posts following its ally Hamas’s October 7 massacres in southern Israel.
Israel’s envoy to the UN welcomed the call and said Israel prefers a diplomatic solution. However, he warned that Israel would not hesitate to use force if the deal did not meet the conditions that would allow Israeli residents to securely return to their homes.
A US official said a decision from Israel, and Lebanon, which was liaising with Hezbollah, on the ceasefire could come “within hours.”
Fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah has escalated sharply over the past week to the brink of an all-out war, stoking fears the conflict could spread across the Middle East.
“This is in nobody’s interest, neither of the people of Israel nor of the people of Lebanon,” continued the statement. “It is time to conclude a diplomatic settlement that enables civilians on both sides of the border to return to their homes in safety.”
The statement went on to say that diplomacy “cannot succeed amid an escalation of this conflict,” before urging “an immediate 21-day ceasefire across the Lebanon-Israel border to provide space for diplomacy towards the conclusion of a diplomatic settlement.”
“We call on all parties, including the governments of Israel and Lebanon, to endorse the temporary ceasefire immediately… and to give a real chance to a diplomatic settlement.”
“We are then prepared to fully support all diplomatic efforts to conclude an agreement between Lebanon and Israel within this period, building on efforts over the last months, that ends this crisis altogether,” concluded the statement.
The statement’s other signatories were Australia, Canada, the European Union, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.
The White House also released a separate statement from US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron, who met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, urging “broad endorsement” of the joint ceasefire statement and “for the immediate support of the governments of Israel and Lebanon.”
“It is time for a settlement on the Israel-Lebanon border that ensures safety and security to enable civilians to return to their homes. The exchange of fire since October 7th, and in particular over the past two weeks, threatens a much broader conflict, and harm to civilians,” the two presidents said. “We therefore have worked together in recent days on a joint call for a temporary ceasefire to give diplomacy a chance to succeed and avoid further escalations across the border.”
Neither of the statements mentioned Hezbollah or Hamas at any point.
Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon told reporters that Israel would welcome a ceasefire and preferred a diplomatic solution. He warned the Security Council that Iran was the nexus of violence in the region and peace required dismantling the threat.
“We are grateful for all those who are making a sincere effort with diplomacy to avoid escalation, to avoid a full war,” Danon said, but added that if talks failed: “We will use all means at our disposal, in accordance with international law, to achieve our aims.”
Despite the optimism, it was not clear that Israel would agree to a ceasefire to allow talks for a broader solution to go ahead. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was flying to New York to address the UN General Assembly, reportedly told ministers at a security meeting on Wednesday that “negotiations will only take place under fire, we’re continuing to fire at Hezbollah in full force.”
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati welcomed the call for a ceasefire, saying the key to its implementation is whether Israel is committed to enforcing international resolutions. Asked earlier if a ceasefire could be reached soon, Mikati told Reuters: “Hopefully, yes.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon and warned, “Hell is breaking loose.”
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told the UN Security Council during its special meeting that “we are counting on both parties to accept it without delay” and added that “war is not unavoidable.”
A senior US official stressed the significance in the call from multiple countries for a ceasefire in Lebanon.
“This is an important breakthrough on the Lebanon side, given all that has gone on there,” the official told reporters in a briefing on the joint statement.
Lebanon and Israel are expected to decide “within hours” whether to accept, a second US official said, adding: “We have had this conversation with the parties and felt this was the right moment.”
Israel has made a priority of securing its northern border and allowing the return there of some 70,000 residents displaced by near-daily exchanges of fire with Hezbollah since it began attacking in October saying it was supporting Gaza amid the ongoing war in the Palestinian coastal enclave.
Both Israel’s envoy Danon and Lebanon’s premier Mikati reaffirmed their governments’ commitment to a Security Council resolution that ended the 2006 Israeli-Hezbollah war. It called for a cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon to be replaced by Lebanese forces and UN peacekeepers, and the disarmament of all armed groups including Hezbollah.
Though Israel complied, Hezbollah did not keep its part in the bargain that included withdrawing its forces north of the Litani River, which runs some 29 kilometers (18 miles) north of the Israel-Lebanon border.
Hezbollah is barred by UN Security Council Resolution 1701 from maintaining a military presence south of the Litani. The Shiite terror group has blatantly violated that resolution and regularly launches attacks on Israel from near the border.
Robert Wood, the deputy US ambassador to the United Nations, told the Security Council he was concerned by deaths in Lebanon.
But he also pinned the blame on Hezbollah, accusing it of violating Security Council resolutions through its alliance with Hamas since October 7.
“Nobody wants to see a repeat of the full-blown war that occurred in 2006,” Wood said.
He said that any end to the conflict needed to include a “comprehensive understanding” that preserves calm along the Blue Line between Israel and Lebanon.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the Middle East is facing a “full-scale catastrophe” and warned Tehran would back Lebanon by “all means” if fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah escalates.
“The region is on the brink of a full-scale catastrophe. If unchecked, the world will face catastrophic consequences,” he tells reporters at the United Nations, adding that Iran would “stand with the people of Lebanon with all means.”
Araqchi also claimed Israel has crossed “all red lines” and said the Security Council must intervene to restore peace and stability.
Over the last several months, Washington has been engaging with officials in Israel and Lebanon to reduce hostilities, a senior White House official said.
“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 this 21-day ceasefire period.
The official said Biden had been focused on the possibility of a ceasefire “in almost every conversation he had with world leaders” at the United Nations General Assembly this week.
Based on discussions with Israelis and Lebanese, the US and its allies felt this was the right time for a call for a ceasefire, the official added.
Diplomats said that the United States was no longer directly linking its struggling push for a Gaza ceasefire with Lebanon efforts due to the urgency of the crisis.
However, while the deal applies only to the Israel-Lebanon border, US officials said they were looking to use a three-week pause in fighting to restart stalled negotiations for a cease-fire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas, another Iranian-backed terror group, after nearly a year of war in Gaza.
War erupted in Gaza on October 7 when Hamas led a devastating cross-border attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and during which terrorists abducted 251 people who were taken as hostages to Gaza. Israel’s military response is aimed at destroying Hams in Gaza and saving the hostages.
