Israel Rejects Ceasefire with Hezbollah; Hezbollah Drone Commander Killed

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, stated on Thursday upon arriving in New York for the UN General Assembly that Israel's policy is clear: "We will continue our attacks with full force against Hezbollah and will not stop until we achieve all our goals, including the safe return of residents of the north to their homes." Meanwhile, according to Reuters, the White House stated on the same day that it does not believe that a "full-scale war" between Israel and Hezbollah is a solution. On Wednesday evening, the United States, France, and other allies jointly called for an immediate 21-day ceasefire to initiate negotiations due to concerns about escalating violence that has occurred after 11 months of border fire exchanges, leading towards a full-scale war. However, Benjamin Netanyahu's office stated on Thursday that the Israeli government has "not even responded" to the temporary ceasefire proposal with Hezbollah and has instructed Israeli military forces to "continue fighting with all their might." Concurrently, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said on Thursday that "there is no ceasefire in the north. We will continue to fight Hezbollah with all our strength until complete victory and the safe return of the people of the north to their homes." Following these statements, the White House emphasized that the international request led by the United States for a ceasefire in Lebanon was "coordinated" with Israel, despite Israel later rejecting the ceasefire and promising to continue fighting Hezbollah. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that "this statement was actually coordinated with the Israeli side." She added that related negotiations at the UN General Assembly in New York are ongoing. Simultaneously, Israel announced on Thursday that it is receiving an $8.7 billion aid package from the United States to support its ongoing military efforts. According to Reuters, this package includes $3.5 billion for essential wartime logistics and $5.2 billion for air defense systems, including enhancements to the Iron Dome missile defense system and an advanced laser system. Hezbollah's drone commander was killed. The Lebanese Ministry of Health announced on Thursday that following an Israeli airstrike on a residential building in southern Beirut, two people were killed and 15 were injured. The Israel Defense Forces reported that this attack resulted in the death of Mohammad Hussein Sarour, the commander of Hezbollah's drones. The Lebanese Ministry of Health also reported that 19 Syrian refugees and one Lebanese citizen in northeastern Lebanon were killed due to an Israeli airstrike that destroyed a workers' residence. The National News Agency of Lebanon, which is government-managed, previously reported that the bodies of 23 Syrian citizens were pulled from the rubble. It was also reported that in the same airstrike on Wednesday night, four Syrians and four other Lebanese were injured. These attacks occurred after the Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army announced on Wednesday that the country is preparing for a possible ground operation in Lebanon, as Hezbollah had fired dozens of rockets into Israel. The United Nations reported that over 90,000 people have been displaced due to five days of Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon, with the total number of displaced persons in Lebanon reaching 200,000 since Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel in "solidarity" with the extremist group Hamas. Preventing potential weapon transfers from Iran to Lebanon. General Tomer Bar, commander of the Israeli Air Force, stated on Thursday evening, "In Lebanon, we will prevent any possibility of weapon transfer from Iran to Lebanon." He added, "[Hassan] Nasrallah's confidence depends on arms supply from Iran." In a video released by the Israeli army, he told his soldiers, "We, along with the Northern Command, are preparing shoulder to shoulder for a ground maneuver. If an order is given, we are ready. This decision must come from higher levels." Diplomatic pressures for a ceasefire. Following reports of Israel preparing to introduce ground forces into Lebanon, France reported at an emergency UN Security Council meeting on a joint Paris-Washington plan for a 21-day ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel. In this emergency meeting held on Wednesday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian referred to the achievement of a 21-day ceasefire plan in Lebanon and the possibility of "diplomatic negotiations" under this ceasefire. British Sky News also reported on Thursday, citing American officials, that a ceasefire in the reciprocal operations of the Israeli army and Hezbollah in Lebanon would "begin in the coming hours." This report indicated that with the start of the 21-day ceasefire, "negotiations for potential solutions to the conflict that began with Hezbollah's shelling of Israel on October 7 of last year will commence." Following these reports on Thursday, the Israeli Prime Minister's office and the Foreign Minister rejected these reports. Netanyahu's office stated that the news regarding the moderation of the war in the north is "false" and the Prime Minister has instructed the army to continue military operations with "full force" based on plans presented to him. The statement from Netanyahu's office also added that the war in Gaza will continue until all specified objectives are achieved. The statement from the Israeli Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem was released at a time when Benjamin Netanyahu was flying from Tel Aviv to New York for his speech at the annual UN General Assembly. The French Foreign Minister warned on Wednesday in front of the 15 members of the Security Council that Lebanon should not be allowed to become another Gaza. Mr. Le Drian stated that this plan will soon be publicly released and said, "Let us loudly say that this slaughter and destruction must end." This French official indicated that efforts to establish a ceasefire are still ongoing, saying, "We count on both sides to accept this ceasefire without delay to protect the civilian population and allow diplomatic negotiations to begin." The Israeli army's readiness to enter Lebanese territory; the US and France are proposing a ceasefire. Mr. Le Drian, who will travel to Lebanon at the end of the week, stated that Paris will engage with both parties in determining diplomatic parameters for resolving the crisis, considering UN Security Council Resolution 1701. Resolution 1701, passed after the one-month war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, expanded the powers of UN peacekeeping forces and allowed the Lebanese army to disarm or remove armed forces from parts of southern Lebanon, permitting only the army of the country to be present in these areas. At the UN General Assembly in New York, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the situation in Lebanon is critical and that the country is becoming another "Gaza." US President Joe Biden also warned in his speech at the New York gathering about the possibility of a full-scale war in Lebanon. According to Axios, US officials say the current goal of the US government is to prevent an Israeli ground invasion of Lebanon and deter Iran from intervening in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. However, the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah continues to take casualties. Lebanon reported that the Israeli army conducted 150 operations in the Bekaa region of eastern Lebanon on Wednesday night until Thursday morning, as well as 40 attacks on various locations in the Baalbek region. The Lebanese Ministry of Health announced that in a single day until the early hours of Thursday, 72 more people were killed in Israeli airstrikes, and hundreds more were injured. This figure does not differentiate between Hezbollah militants and civilians. Hezbollah has stopped updating its casualty figures since the beginning of the week. In northern Israel, the municipality of Safed, which was targeted by multiple rocket attacks from Hezbollah on Wednesday and suffered significant damage to homes and public places, also urged residents to stay close to shelters and safe places on Thursday. The Israeli army announced that on Thursday morning, 45 rockets targeted the city of Akko. Residents reported intercepting and seeing the debris of destroyed rockets fall. Several individuals who had run towards shelters and fallen were transferred to clinics. Residents in Akko, the Golan Heights, and Galilee were also advised to remain near shelters and safe points. Schools across northern Israel, including the port city of Haifa, remained closed for the fifth consecutive day due to security risks from Hezbollah's rocket and drone attacks. The International Monetary Fund warned on Wednesday that the war between Hezbollah and Israel is imposing severe costs on Lebanon. A spokesperson for this international body told Reuters, "We are closely monitoring the escalation of conflict in the region with great concern. The current conflict is causing heavy human casualties, damaging physical infrastructure in southern Lebanon, and worsening Lebanon's economic and social situation." Hours before the emergency Security Council meeting, Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, called for an end to Israeli attacks on Lebanon at the UN General Assembly. Mr. Macron stated, "A war in Lebanon must not break out. That is why we ask Israel to refrain from escalating the conflict in Lebanon and we ask Hezbollah to stop launching rockets at Israel." He then announced that he would send his foreign minister to Lebanon as part of Paris's diplomatic efforts to prevent war.