Residents of the northern Israeli city of Nahariya on Thursday (26) rejected ceasefire proposals with Hezbollah after the United States and France called for a 21-day halt to fighting that has killed hundreds of people in Lebanon and raised fears of a ground invasion.
As Hezbollah rockets were seen being intercepted over the city, residents insisted on their stance of resolving the issue with the Lebanon-based militant group once and for all.
“I think we should… put an end to this problem, with Hezbollah and also with Gaza,” said retiree Elie Sebbag.
“We need to… stop this, kill them, stop them, do something,” Sebbag said.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz also rejected Thursday’s proposals, saying “there will be no ceasefire in the north.”
The comments dashed hopes for a quick peaceful settlement after Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati expressed hope that a ceasefire would soon be reached in Lebanon, where hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes in search of safety.
The heaviest fighting in nearly two decades between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group has raised fears of a new Israeli ground offensive on the Lebanese-Israeli border.
Countries including the United States, France and several allies have called for an immediate 21-day ceasefire on the Israel-Lebanon border, as well as expressing support for a ceasefire in Gaza after intense discussions at the United Nations on Wednesday (25).
Nahariya residents appear to dismiss this position.
Shopkeeper Gil Jakov said he believed any truce period would be used by Hezbollah to organize for future missile attacks.
Overnight Israeli airstrikes hit approximately 75 Hezbollah targets in the Bekaa Valley and southern Lebanon, including weapons storage facilities and ready-to-fire launchers, the Israeli military said on Thursday.
In the latest deadly attack, at least 23 Syrians, mostly women and children, were killed when Israel struck a three-story building in the Lebanese town of Younine overnight, the town’s mayor Ali Qusas told Reuters.
Lebanon is home to around 1.5 million Syrians who fled the country’s civil war.
This content was originally published in Residents of northern Israel reject ceasefire proposal with Hezbollah on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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