NEW YORK — The United States and France on Wednesday issued a joint call for a 21-day cease-fire across the Israel-Lebanon border, during which negotiations would continue over a more comprehensive deal between Israel and Hezbollah.
The diplomatic push comes as the Israeli military on Monday widened its air campaign against Hezbollah nearly a year after the cross-border hostilities between Israel and the Lebanese militant group broke out on Oct. 8.
In a joint statement, President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron called for broad endorsement of the cease-fire and the immediate support of the Israeli and Lebanese governments.
“It is time for a settlement on the Israel-Lebanon border that ensures safety and security to enable civilians to return to their homes,” Biden and Macron said.
The call for a cease-fire was endorsed by Australia, Canada, the European Union, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
The latest escalation has seen some of the worst fighting between Israel and Hezbollah since the 2006 war. At least 600 people have been killed in Lebanon over the past week, and more than 90,000 have been displaced in the fighting. Hezbollah on Tuesday launched a projectile at Tel Aviv — its first ever in the decades-long conflict.
The escalation has renewed fears that Israel will mount a ground invasion of southern Lebanon, potentially unleashing a far more deadly confrontation that could draw its ally, the United States, into direct conflict with Hezbollah’s patron, Iran.
For nearly a year, senior White House adviser Amos Hochstein shuttled between Israel and Lebanon in search of a diplomatic solution that would restore calm to the border. Those efforts were complicated by Hezbollah’s insistence that its attacks on Israel would continue until a cease-fire is reached in the Gaza Strip.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
