U.S., EU and nine other nations call for 21-day cease-fire on Israel-Lebanon border

WASHINGTON — A day after President Joe Biden told the United Nations General Assembly that he did not want to see a “full-scale war” in the Middle East, the U.S. and a group of nine other nations plus the European Union called for a 21-day cease-fire across the Lebanon-Israel border.

"It is time to conclude a diplomatic settlement that enables civilians on both sides of the border to return to their homes in safety," they said in a joint statement on Wednesday night. "Diplomacy however cannot succeed amid an escalation of this conflict."

Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon have killed at least 72 people, according to a Reuters compilation of Lebanese health ministry statements. For almost a year, the Iran-backed militant group has intensified firing of rockets into northern Israel. Tensions on that border have increased since the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel that killed 1,200 people.

Israel responded by launching military strikes on Gaza that have killed about 40,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Gazan Health Ministry.

A U.S. official told reporters that the involved parties would need to agree to the temporary cease-fire but said that they were familiar with the text and would respond in coming hours. The U.S. said it had been speaking directly to the Lebanese government and inferred that its government would work to negotiate the terms of an agreement with Hezbollah.

The statement came after Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday. The joint statement included France, Australia, Canada, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Germany Italy, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, in addition to the U.S. and EU.

U.S. officials are concerned that a ratcheting up of tensions could lead to a broader, regional conflict in the Middle East and have been trying to negotiate a cease-fire across the demarcation line that divides Israel from Lebanon.

Israel's military chief told troops on Wednesday that its heavy airstrikes in Lebanon were preparing the way for a possible ground operation by Israeli forces against Hezbollah militants. A flurry of diplomacy sought to prevent a second front from opening in the war between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza.

Israel also shot down a missile that the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement said it had aimed at the headquarters of the Mossad intelligence agency near Israel's biggest city, Tel Aviv.

Israeli officials said a heavy missile had headed towards civilian areas in Tel Aviv, not the Mossad HQ, before being shot down.

Contributing: Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: U.S. and partners call for 21-day cease-fire on Israel-Lebanon border