Far-right Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday, Sep 26, that Israel is “striking Hezbollah with full force” and “will not stop until its goals are achieved.” Netanyahu spoke as he landed in New York to attend the annual U.N. General Assembly meeting and as US and European officials were pressing for a 21-day halt Lebanon.

The United States, European Union, and other countries including several Arab states had issued a joint call for a 21-day halt in the fighting in Lebanon, where a months-long border conflict has spiked in recent days, with Hezbollah bombarding Israel’s north and the Israel forces bombarding cities and entire regions, much of which is embedded in civilian areas. Foreign Minister Israel Katz backed up Netanyahu, asserting that “there will be no ceasefire in the north.”

In response to the ceasefire deal reports on X/Twitter, “opposition” leader and Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid welcomed the ceasefire proposal, however, he also wrote that it should have been shorter. “The State of Israel should announce this morning that it accepts the Biden-Macron proposal for a ceasefire, but only for seven days, to prevent Hezbollah from rebuilding its command-and-control systems,” Lapid wrote. Chairman of the Democrats (Labor and Meretz parties) and former Deputy Chief of Staff, Major General (res.) Yair Golan advocated for a three-day ceasefire, not a three-week one. 

“Stop the war, there is no military solution”, anti-war activists led by Hadash and the Communist Party of Israel during a demonstration against the war in Lebanon, held at Central Tel-Aviv, Tuesday, September 24, 2024 (Photo: Eran Torbiner)

However, Hadash called on Thursday morning for stop the war now. “Unlike the warmongers in the Israeli political system, we support a ceasefire that could bring an end to the war in Gaza and Lebanon, an end to Israel’s campaign of destruction and killing, a return of people to their homes, and a hostage deal,” said.

Related: https://maki.org.il/en/?p=32136