Israeli teams will continue meetings on US ceasefire proposals, Netanyahu says

27/9/2024 15:40

        Israeli teams had meetings to discuss the U.S. ceasefire proposals with Lebanon on Thursday and will continue discussions in the days ahead, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday, adding that he appreciated the U.S. efforts.
        
        "Our teams met (Thursday, Sept. 26) to discuss the U.S. initiative and how we can advance the shared goal of returning people safely to their homes. We will continue those discussions in the coming days," he said in a statement.
        
        The comments came after Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday there would be no ceasefire in the north, where Israeli jets have been carrying out the heaviest bombardment against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement in decades.
        
        On Thursday, after Netanyahu left for New York where he is attending the United Nations General Assembly, his office issued a statement saying the prime minister had ordered Israeli troops to continue fighting with full force in Lebanon.
        
        Netanyahu's statement made no reference to the comments of Katz and other Israeli politicians, who have also rejected a ceasefire, saying only that there had been "a lot of misreporting around the U.S.-led ceasefire initiative".