Middle East crisis live: Israel and Hezbollah expected to respond to ceasefire proposal in ‘coming hours’, says US

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Authorities in Lebanon have reported four people dead on Thursday after Israeli airstrikes on the south of the country continued. The state National News Agency reports that a Syrian national was killed in Qana, and three people were killed in an Israeli air raid on Aita al-Shaab.

Israeli media reports that a planned rally by the family and friends of hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza for Saturday is to be postponed due to “security and safety concerns”. It was scheduled to take place at the Begin Gate in Tel Aviv. Israeli authorities believe that about 101 hostages are still in captivity in Gaza, having been held there for nearly a year.

France and US push for 21-day Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire in Lebanon

Patrick Wintour and Andrew Roth report for the Guardian in New York

The US and France have called for a 21-day temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah to make way for broader negotiations, as the UN secretary general, António Guterres, told a UN security council meeting that “hell is breaking loose” in Lebanon.

The joint statement issued by US president Joe Biden and French counterpart Emmanuel Macron said: “It is time for a settlement on the Israel-Lebanon border that ensures safety and security to enable civilians to return to their homes. The exchange of fire since October 7th, and in particular over the past two weeks, threatens a much broader conflict, and harm to civilians.”

The two leaders, who met on the sidelines of the UN general assembly in New York, said they had worked on a temporary ceasefire “to give diplomacy a chance to succeed and avoid further escalations across the border”.

They urged Israel and Lebanon to back the move, which was also endorsed by the UK, Australia, Canada, the European Union, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

A senior US administration official said on Wednesday night that both Israel and Lebanon, which was understood to be representing Hezbollah in the negotiations, were expected to respond to the call “in the coming hours”.

Read more from Patrick Wintour and Andrew Roth in New York here: France and US push for 21-day Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire in Lebanon as UN chief warns ‘hell is breaking loose’

Opening summary

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the Middle East crisis.

The US and France have called for a 21-day temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah to make way for broader negotiations.

A senior US administration official said on Wednesday night that both Israel and Lebanon, which was understood to be representing Hezbollah in the negotiations, were expected to respond to the call “in the coming hours.”

The US officials said that the 21-day period was chosen in order to provide space in order to negotiate a more comprehensive agreement between the two sides to allow residents to return to their homes along the Israel-Lebanon border without fear of further violence or an “7 October-like attack in the future”.

More on that in a moment, first here’s a summary of the day’s other main events.

• At least 72 people were killed in Israeli attacks in Lebanon on Wednesday and hundreds were wounded, according to figures by the Lebanese health ministry. The geographic scope of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah has widened, after Israel targeted the mountains north of Beirut for the first time in the war, and Hezbollah aimed a long-range missile at Tel Aviv, drawing an Israeli warning that it was preparing a major response. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it hit more than 2,000 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon in the past three days.

• Israel’s top general has said the country is preparing for a possible ground operation into Lebanon. As an intense bombing campaign inside Lebanon stretched in to a third day, Maj Gen Herzi Halevi said the airstrikes aimed to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure and prepare for the possibility of Israeli troops crossing the border. “We are preparing the process of a manoeuvre,” he told troops during a visit to Israel’s north on Wednesday.

• However the Pentagon said an Israeli ground offensive in Lebanon did not appear “imminent”. Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said the US was making “a full-court press” for a diplomatic solution to the crisis. She referred reporters to Israel for questions about its operations and plans.

• France’s foreign minister has told the UN security council that his country and the United States are working to hammer out a 21-day temporary ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel to allow time for broader negotiations. “A diplomatic solution is indeed possible. In recent days, we’ve worked with our American partners on a temporary ceasefire platform of 21 days to allow for negotiations,” Jean-Noël Barrot told the 15-member UN security council.

• Najib Mikati, the caretaker prime minister of Lebanon, has told the UN security council that Israel is violating his country’s sovereignty “by sending its war planes and drones to our skies, by killing our civilians, including youth, women and children, destroying homes and forcing families to flee”. Mikati says hospitals are overwhelmed and unable to accept any more victims.

• Danny Danon, Israel’s UN envoy, has said that his country does not seek a full-scale war. Danon has accused Iran of being the “driving force” behind the instability sweeping the Middle East. Danon also said that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to arrive in the US on Thursday to address the UN general assembly.