EU urges Israel-Hezbollah cease-fire: ‘No more excuses’

WASHINGTON — European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called on Israel to agree Tuesday to a cease-fire with the Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group, saying there are “no more excuses.”

Speaking to reporters ahead of a meeting of G-7 foreign ministers in Italy, Borrell said a cease-fire is “absolutely necessary” for civilians displaced by several months of intensified fighting along the Israel-Lebanon border.

He expressed hope that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government would approve a cease-fire proposal “today” without seeking to add additional stipulations that could delay or derail an agreement.

“No more excuses. No more additional requests. Stop this fighting. Stop killing people. And let’s start thinking on peace,” Borrell said.

U.S. officials expressed hope Monday that a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah was close.

Speaking to reporters during a press call, national security spokesperson John Kirby described recent talks in Beirut led by U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein as "constructive," adding, "We believe that the trajectory of this is going in a very positive direction."

In New York on Monday, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, said negotiations toward a ceasefire, aimed at ending the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Lebanese Shia militia, are "moving forward" but have not been “finalized."

He added that Israel would retain the ability to strike southern Lebanon under any agreement.

“We will make sure that we will have the ability to neutralize any threat that will not be dealt [with] in southern Lebanon. I hope that the Lebanese army will take care of that in the future, but if they will fail, again, we will be there,” Danon said.

Meanwhile, Lebanon's deputy speaker, Elias Bou Saab, said there are no major obstacles to implementing a U.S.-proposed ceasefire deal, which requires Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon and Lebanese troop deployment within 60 days.

A five-nation committee, chaired by the United States and including France, will oversee the process, according to Bou Saab.

At the State Department, officials declined to comment on the details and terms of the ceasefire proposal but acknowledged that “significant progress” has been made toward an agreement.

“We don't believe we have an agreement yet. We believe we're close to an agreement. We believe that we have narrowed the gap significantly. But there are still steps that we need to see taken,” spokesperson Matthew Miller said during a briefing on Monday, without specifying what those steps are.

Hezbollah started firing on Israel more than a year ago in support of Hamas militants, who attacked Israel in October 2023 and have been warring with Israel in Gaza since then.

The fighting has caused a humanitarian crisis, displacing hundreds of thousands.

On Monday, the United Nations World Food Program announced that it has provided emergency aid to more than a half-million people in Lebanon since the conflict began. The WFP said it plans to reach 1 million people and is continuing to work tirelessly to deliver critical assistance to affected communities.

Hamas militants killed 1,200 people and captured about 250 hostages in their October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that sparked the current war in Gaza. Israel says it believes Hamas is still holding 101 hostages, including 35 the military says are dead.

Israel’s counteroffensive in Gaza has killed at least 44,235 Palestinians, according to the territory's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count.

Hamas and Hezbollah have been designated as terror groups by the United States, the United Kingdom and other Western countries.

VOA State Department bureau chief Nike Ching and United Nations Some material in this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.