Israel far-right minister rejects Lebanon ceasefire, calls for 'crushing' Hezbollah

Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Thursday rejected a proposal for a 21-day ceasefire in Lebanon and called for the "crushing" of the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

The United States, European Union and other allies including several Arab states issued a joint call for a 21-day ceasefire in Lebanon after Israeli air strikes on Hezbollah killed hundreds and displaced tens of thousands in Lebanon this week.

The call for a three-week ceasefire came hours after Israeli army chief Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi on Wednesday told soldiers to prepare for a possible ground offensive against Hezbollah.

Smotrich, a key member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government, opposed the proposal, insisting that continuing the war against Hezbollah was the only way forward.

"The campaign in the north should end with a single result: crushing Hezbollah and elimination of its ability to harm the residents of the north," Smotrich said on X.

"The enemy must not be given time to recover from the heavy blows it has suffered and reorganise itself to continue the war after 21 days," he said.

"Hezbollah's surrender or war -- this is the only way to bring back the residents and security to the north and the country."

- GAZA -

In a separate statement on X, opposition leader Yair Lapid said the Israeli government should only agree to a seven-day ceasefire.

This would "prevent Hezbollah from restoring its command and control systems," Lapid said.

"We will not accept any proposal that does not include the withdrawal of Hezbollah from our northern border."

Smotrich, along with far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, has been a strong advocate of continuing the war in Gaza too, where Israeli forces have been battling Palestinian militants led by the Islamist group Hamas since October 7.

The Gaza war erupted when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, and Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel from Lebanon a day later in what it says is solidarity with its ally Hamas.

Since then Israel and Hezbollah have been engaged in fierce cross-border clashes, which worsened this week when Israel launched a withering bombing campaign in southern Lebanon targeting Hezbollah sites in the deadliest violence since Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war.