MONITORING (SW) – The United States, the European Union and Arab nations were among those who released a joint statement late calling for an immediate 21-day cease-fire across the Israel-Lebanon border between Israel and Hezbollah.
“We call for an immediate 21-day cease-fire across the Lebanon-Israel border to provide space for diplomacy,” the statement reads. “We call on all parties, including the Governments of Israel and Lebanon, to endorse the temporary cease-fire immediately.”
It also reiterated calls for a cease-fire in Gaza.
The statement was issued after talks, led by France and the US, at the UN Security Council session in New York, reported DW.
The call comes after a major escalation in the conflict that has seen thousands of Israeli strikes across southern and eastern Lebanon as well as the capital Beirut, leaving hundreds dead. Hezbollah has also fired barrages of rockets into Israel.
The fighting in Lebanon is “intolerable and presents an unacceptable risk of a broader regional escalation,” the statement said.
“It is time to conclude a diplomatic settlement that enables civilians on both sides of the border to return to their homes in safety,” said the joint statement issued by the United States, Australia, Canada, European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has expressed hope in a cease-fire proposal announced by France on Wednesday.
Although the details of the French-US plan had not yet been revealed, Mikati said it could possibly bring an end to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
“France stood by our side in the darkest circumstances, the best proof being the efforts France is making today in collaboration with the United States in order to issue a joint communique that enjoys international support and which would put an end to this dirty war,” Mikati told the UN Security Council in New York.
Hundreds of lives have been lost in this war so far. The United Nations said Wednesday that some 90,000 people had been displaced in Lebanon this week, as Israel pounds what it claims are Hezbollah targets across the country and the Lebanese resistance group attacks Israel.
