The News
The US, its Western allies, and several Arab nations called for a three-week ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, hoping to avert a wider war. However, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later rejected the proposal, saying Israel will continue to strike Hezbollah ”until we achieve all our goals.”
The joint ceasefire call came shortly after Israel’s defense minister suggested a ground invasion of southern Lebanon was possible.
Experts fear that an escalation could devastate the hard-pressed country, which is enduring its worst economic crisis in decades.
A third of Lebanon’s residents have already fled their homes at least once, many of them refugees from Syria, with recent Israeli strikes forcing tens of thousands to leave. “This society will break,” the head of an aid agency told the BBC.