Israel rules out US-France ceasefire plan; asks military to fight with ‘full force’

Hours after the US, France, and other allies called for an immediate 21-day ceasefire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the country's military to keep fighting with "full force", his office said.

The Israeli PM also did not respond to the ceasefire call, Netanyahu's office added.

His office further called the news about the ceasefire "not true".

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"The news about a ceasefire - not true. This is an American-French proposal, to which the prime minister did not even respond. The news about the supposed directive to moderate the fighting in the north is also the opposite of the truth," it stated.

Watch |Israel-Hezbollah War: France, US Propose 21-Day Lebanon Ceasefire

According to the office's statement, Netanyahu instructed the IDF to continue the fighting with full force, and according to the plans presented to him.

"Also, the fighting in Gaza will continue until all the goals of the war are achieved," it stressed.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katzsaid, "There will be no ceasefire in the north".

Israel "will continue to fight against the terrorist organisation Hezbollah with all our might until victory and the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes," Katz said in a statement on X.

US, UK and European Union calls for 'temporary ceasefire'

This comes after the US, UK, and EU called for a temporary ceasefire in Lebanon after the rising ongoing tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

The 12-strong bloc proposed an immediate 21-day pause in fighting "to provide space for diplomacy towards the conclusion of a diplomatic settlement" and a ceasefire in Gaza.

They issued a joint statement, stressing that the hostilities were "intolerable" and presented an "unacceptable risk of a broader regional escalation".

Israel 'spreading terror and fear'

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, speaking at the emergency meeting at UN headquarters in New York, emphasised the need for "de-escalation"

He added that Israel’s aerial bombardment, attacks on electronic devices, and threatened ground invasion have spread “terror and fear among the Lebanese citizens in full view of the world”.

“I hope to come back to my country armed with your explicit stance calling for the cessation of this aggression and for the respect of the sovereignty and safety of my country,” Mikati told the 15 members of the UN’s most powerful body.

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(With inputs from agencies)