Top Western diplomats met in Paris on Thursday amid efforts to achieve a cease-fire in Gaza and prevent tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border from spiraling into a larger conflict.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken participated in the talks with his counterparts from Britain, France, Germany and Italy after traveling to Egypt for discussions on how to push forward the Gaza negotiations.
“We don’t want to see any escalatory actions by any party” that would endanger the goal of a cease-fire to the Gaza conflict, Blinken said after the talks.
Blinken also cautioned against “escalatory actions by any party” in the Middle East.
“France and the United States are united in calling for restraint and urging de-escalation when it comes to the Middle East in general, and when it comes to Lebanon in particular,” he said.
Following talks in Paris on Thursday, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy called for an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah.
“Tonight, I’m calling for an immediate cease-fire from both sides,” he told Reuters. “We are very, very clear that we want to see a negotiated political settlement so that Israelis can return to their homes in northern Israel and, indeed, Lebanese to return to their homes.”
Blinken noted Wednesday that progress has been made on a cease-fire deal over the past month and a half, but now both Israel and Hamas must show "political will" to get an agreement concluded.
“There are, I think, in the agreement, 18 paragraphs, 15 of them are agreed. But the remaining issues need to be resolved,” Blinken said during a joint press conference in Cairo with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty.
Abdelatty told reporters through a translator that Hamas has confirmed its full commitment to the cease-fire agreement reached on May 27 and to the amendments made on July 2.
Months of talks with U.S., Egyptian and Qatari officials mediating have yet to bring a deal suitable to both Israel and Hamas. The negotiations have focused on an outline that includes a halt in fighting and the release of hostages still being held by Hamas militants in Gaza.
The U.S. has not provided a timetable for the revised proposal, though officials have indicated that it would be presented soon.
The push for a cease-fire could be complicated by a series of deadly explosions involving pagers and walkie-talkies used by members of the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon.
The explosions this week came shortly after Israel announced the expansion of its war against Hamas to include the goal of making it possible for residents of northern Israel to return to homes they evacuated because of clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah along the Israel-Lebanon border.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his concern about the attack, which has been widely attributed to Israel.
“Because obviously, the logic of making all these devices explode is to do it as a preemptive strike before a major military operation,” he told reporters in New York. “So as important as the event in itself, is the indication that this event confirms that there is a serious risk of a dramatic escalation in Lebanon, and everything must be done to avoid that escalation.”
Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, began its near-daily attacks shortly after the war in Gaza began, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes. Hezbollah, which like Hamas is supported by Iran, has said it would halt the attacks if there were a cease-fire deal for Gaza.
Hezbollah is a U.S.-designated terrorist group. Hamas has been designated a terror group by the U.S., the U.K., EU and other Western nations.
Two Israeli soldiers were killed on Thursday in northern Israel, the Israeli military said. One was killed by a drone and the other by an anti-tank missile fired by Hezbollah across Israel’s border with Lebanon, the Israeli outlet N12 News reported.
UN meeting
At the United Nations, the General Assembly adopted a resolution on Wednesday calling on Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian lands within a year. The text also proposes sanctions and steps toward ending arms shipments to Israel if they could be used in Palestinian areas.
The resolution was adopted with 124 votes in favor and 14 against, with 43 abstentions.
The Palestinian-drafted resolution is trying to build on momentum from an advisory opinion issued in July by the U.N.’s top court, the International Court of Justice. The court said that the annexation and occupation of Palestinian territories is unlawful and Israel’s discriminatory laws and policies against Palestinians “are tantamount to the crime of apartheid.”
“We are committed to the rule of international law and to just and lasting peace in our region,” Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour said at the start of the two-day meeting on Monday. “This requires ensuring that the same rules apply to all. No bias. No double standards. No exceptionalism. And no exception.”
Israel rejected the court’s opinion, and its ambassador urged countries not to support the proposed resolution.
“This is a shameful decision that backs the Palestinian Authority’s diplomatic terrorism,” Ambassador Danny Danon said in a statement after the vote.
The United States voted against the measure.
“There is no path forward or hope offered through this resolution today,” Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the assembly on Monday. “Its adoption will not save Palestinian lives, bring the hostages home, end Israeli settlements or reinvigorate the peace process.”
General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, but they carry the weight of the international community.
Hamas triggered the conflict with its October 2023 attack on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and led to the capture of 250 hostages. Israel’s counteroffensive in Gaza has killed more than 41,200 Palestinians, a death toll Israel says includes thousands of militant fighters.
A U.N. committee on Thursday accused Israel of severe violations of a global treaty protecting the rights of children. The committee said Israel’s military actions in Gaza have had an extreme impact on children and are among the worst violations in recent history.
“The outrageous death of children is almost historically unique. This is an extremely dark place in history,” Bragi Gudbrandsson, vice chairperson of the committee, told reporters on Thursday.
VOA State Department Bureau Chief Nike Ching, U.N. correspondent Margaret Besheer, Kim Lewis and Natasha Mozgovaya contributed to this report. Some information in this report came from Reuters.
