Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected a report he has given the green light for a 21-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
A group of countries led by the U.S. and France is working to secure a deal for the ceasefire.
“The report about a ceasefire is incorrect,” a statement from Netanyahu’s office said.
“This is an American-French proposal that the prime minister has not even responded to.”
The controversy comes on the heels of the disclosure by the Israeli army that it had intercepted a missile from Yemen.
Warning sirens rang out across Tel Aviv in the early hours of Friday (today, September 27) as air defence intercepted a missile fired from Yemen, the Israeli military said.
A post by the military on social media platform X said that millions of Israelis were seeking shelter in the centre of the country after the rocket alert.
With regard to the ceasefire controversy, a report by broadcaster N12 that Netanyahu had instructed the army to reduce attacks in the northern neighbouring country was also “the opposite of the truth,” the prime minister’s office said.
“The prime minister has directed the IDF to continue fighting with full force, according to the plan that was presented to him.”
A joint demand for a ceasefire lasting 21 days was earlier issued by a handful of countries, including the U.S., Germany, France, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.
The demand had been coordinated with Israel, according to the U.S. government. White House spokesman John Kirby said the statement “wasn’t just drawn up in a vacuum.”
It was done after careful consultation, Kirby said, “not only with the countries that signed on to it but Israel itself.”
The pause is intended to create space for a diplomatic solution to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as the nearly year-long Gaza war.
There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties from the Yemeni missile.
Explosions heard in the early hours were due to the missile being intercepted from Yemen, the military said.
On Wednesday, warning sirens rang out across Tel Aviv for the first time since May as Israel’s air defence intercepted a missile fired from Lebanon.
It was the first time Lebanese Hezbollah militia had targeted Tel Aviv, in central Israel, since the war against Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip began on October 7, 2023.
Following a fatal drone attack on Tel Aviv by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen earlier this year, the Israeli Air Force attacked the port city of Hodeidah in July, leading to a massive fire and six deaths.
Houthi leaders subsequently announced a new phase in the fight against Israel.
The Houthi militants have also been attacking ships in the Red Sea, saying the attacks are intended to support Hamas and force an end to the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.
