France and US propose 21-day Lebanon ceasefire

The US and French leaders have pressed jointly for an immediate 21-day ceasefire in Lebanon, in a call joined by allies as the death toll mounts from Israeli strikes on Lebanon.

US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York as they voiced fears that the conflict, after a year of bloodshed in Gaza, would escalate into a full-blown regional war.

The situation in Lebanon has become "intolerable" and "is in nobody's interest, neither of the people of Israel nor of the people of Lebanon," said a joint statement released by the White House.

"We call for an immediate 21 day ceasefire across the Lebanon-Israel border to provide space for diplomacy towards the conclusion of a diplomatic settlement."

The statement was issued jointly with Western powers, Japan and key Gulf Arab powers - Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

A senior US official said the joint call for a ceasefire was an "important breakthrough".

"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, which was aimed at avoiding wider conflict following Israeli strikes on Hezbollah that have killed hundreds.

Lebanon and Israel were 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."

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot earlier unveiled the proposal at an emergency Security Council session.

"There has been important progress in the past few hours," Mr Barrot said.

"We've been working since the start of the week in New York on a diplomatic solution with our American friends in particular."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon and warned, "Hell is breaking loose."

Israel said it welcomed diplomacy on Lebanon but vowed to pursue its goal of degrading Hezbollah.

"We are grateful for all those who are making a sincere effort with diplomacy to avoid escalation, to avoid a full war," Israel's envoy to the United Nations, Danny Danon, told reporters before entering the session.

"We will use all means at our disposal, in accordance with international law, to achieve our aims," Mr Danon said.

The violence comes after the failure to reach a ceasefire in Gaza where Israel for nearly a year has been seeking to wipe out another Iranian ally, Hamas.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that Tehran, which in recent weeks has held back on retaliatory strikes on Israel after attacks targeting Iranian interests, may no longer be restrained.

"The region is on the brink of a full-scale catastrophe. If unchecked, the world will face catastrophic consequences," he told reporters.

Risk of escalation

Israel went ahead with the offensive in Lebanon despite repeated appeals by the United States to avoid a wider war.

"Risk of escalation in the region is acute," said Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who has made 10 trips to the Middle East since Hamas carried out the deadliest attack ever on Israel on 7 October 2023.

"The best answer is diplomacy, and our coordinated efforts are vital to preventing further escalation and to paving the path to greater peace and stability," Mr Blinken said as he met Gulf Arab counterparts at a New York hotel.

Israel and Hezbollah have been skirmishing since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, but at a lower level.

Last week pagers and other handheld communications devices of Hezbollah exploded in an operation widely attributed to Israel.

Hundreds have died and thousands have been displaced since Israel launched its strikes, with the Lebanese health ministry saying that another 72 people died on Wednesday.

Diplomats said that the United States was no longer directly linking its struggling push for a Gaza ceasefire with Lebanon efforts.

US officials said their main goal was to avoid a wider conflict.

"An all-out war is possible," Mr Biden said on ABC's chat show The View.

"What I think is, also, the opportunity is still in play to have a settlement that could fundamentally change the whole region," Mr Biden said.

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 blame on Lebanon, accusing it of violating Security Council resolutions through its alliance with Hamas since 7 October.

"Nobody wants to see a repeat of the full-blown war that occurred in 2006," Mr Wood said.

However, 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.