US: We issued Lebanon ceasefire call believing Israel backed it

The United States issued a call for a 21-day temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah because it believed that Israel supported it, US National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby told reporters on Thursday afternoon.

“We wouldn't have worked on that statement the way we did,” Kirby said as he referred to the joint ceasefire call by US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron published late Wednesday calling on all parties involved to the year-long constrained IDF-Hezbollah war to halt hostilities for 21 days. 

“We wouldn't have issued it when and how we did if it wasn't supported by the conversations that we were having with top Israeli officials yesterday, and those conversations continue today,” Kirby said.

A diplomatic source said, “Israel was informed about the American proposal but clearly did not give its consent to it.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, upon landing in the rain in New York Thursday morning, clarified immediately that the IDF would continue with its military campaign against Hezbollah.

“We are continuing to hit Hezbollah with all our power, and we will not stop until we achieve all our objectives, first and foremost the return of the northern residents to their homes,” Netanyahu told reporters on the tarmac as he stood under an umbrella with his wife, Sara.

“Our policy is clear, “ Netanyahu said, so “nobody should misunderstand it.”

He spoke after right-wing politicians from his party publicly opposed the plan. Pundits have speculated that Netanyahu shifted course due to political pressure.

Kirby appeared to hint at that scenario when pressed by reporters as to whether Netanyahu had changed his position overnight based on his comments upon landing in New York.

"I can't answer the question why he said what he said, and I certainly can't begin to speculate about what considerations went into that statement, whether they were political or operational or otherwise,” Kirby said.

“Those are questions that Netanyahu needs to be asked, and should be given the opportunity to answer,” he stated. Kirby stressed, as did White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre that talks were ongoing in New York, on the sidelines of the high-level portion of the opening session of the 79th UN General Assembly.

Kirby noted that US special envoy Brett McGurk was in New York. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in New York as was Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib.

Jean-Pierre told reporters, “We want to see a 21-day ceasefire to give us the space to have that conversation so that we can have negotiations to end this. That’s what we want to see. And so we believe this gives us an opportunity to do that.”

“We felt comfortable releasing that statement last night because we have been having those conversations with Israel and Lebanon,” Jean-Pierre said, adding that diplomacy is the way to deal with the situation.

“We are trying to prevent a wider war,” she stressed.

Macron told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation there was still time for Netanyahu to commit to the plan.

"And I do believe that the U.S. now has to increase the pressure on the prime minister of Israel to do so," he said. If Netanyahu said no, Macron said, France would raise the matter at the United Nations Security Council.

"We wait for all the partners to be very vocal and committed with us in order to send this clear message: Israel cannot invade Lebanon today. War is not possible in Lebanon today; it would be a huge mistake, a huge risk of escalation," he said.

Confusion over ceasefire proposal

Macron and Biden released their 21-day ceasefire call while Netanyahu was en-route to New York. The Prime Minister’s Office sent a message from the plane stressing that it had not yet accepted that offer and then issued a photograph of Netanyahu authorizing the assassination of Hezbollah’s drone unit chief Muhammad Hossein Sarur.

Netanyahu told reporters that “during the flight, I gave authorization for the assassination of the head of [Hezbollah’s] drone unit and other things, and he was assassinated.”

The PMO said earlier Thursday that the ceasefire call was “an American-French proposal that the prime minister has not even responded to.”

It also rejected reports that as a result of the diplomatic initiatives, the IDF had scaled down the level of its military campaign.

“The report about the purported directive to ease up on the fighting in the North is the opposite of the truth. The prime minister has directed the IDF to continue fighting with full force, according to the plan that was presented to him.”

The IDF remained poised to embark on a ground invasion of southern Lebanon to route out Hezbollah forces along the border.

“The fighting in Gaza will also continue until all the objectives of the war have been achieved,” the Prime Minister’s Office stated.

Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on X on Thursday that “there will not be a ceasefire in the North.”

The 21-day ceasefire proposal was endorsed by 10 other countries and entities: Australia, Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.

They called on Israel, Hezbollah, and Lebanon to adhere to a settlement based on UNSC Resolution 1701, which set out the ceasefire terms for the Second Lebanon War in 2006.

Such a step would necessitate Hezbollah pulling out of the area of southern Lebanon near the Israeli border and moving back to the Litani River. Hezbollah has long violated that resolution. Israel has been weighing the option of a ground campaign in southern Lebanon in addition to its current aerial one.

The US, France, and the additional 10 countries also called for the implementation of the May 31 Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal that was endorsed by the UNSC under Resolution 2735.

“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 consistent with UNSCR 1701, and the implementation of UNSCR 2735 regarding a ceasefire in Gaza,” the 12 countries said.

“We are then prepared to fully support all diplomatic efforts to conclude an agreement between Lebanon and Israel within this period, building on efforts over the last months, that end this crisis altogether,” the 12 countries underscored.

A senior US official said that talks would be held during those 21 days for a diplomatic resolution, noting that it only involved the conflict with Hezbollah and did not include a Gaza ceasefire, even though steps were ongoing to finalize such a deal as well.

The official noted that it was expected that Israel and Lebanon would respond within hours to the call.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Thursday that there was a risk of all-out war between Hezbollah and Israel but added that a diplomatic solution was still viable.

“Another full-scale war [could] be devastating for both Israel and Lebanon,” Austin said after a meeting with his British and Australian counterparts in London.

“So let me be clear, Israel and Lebanon can choose a different path, despite the sharp escalation in recent days, a diplomatic solution is still viable,” Austin said.

Asked about redlines for US support to Israel, Austin said the United States would not change its commitment to help Israel protect itself and its sovereign territory.

Reuters contributed to this report.