After opposing a Gaza truce for months, Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich rejected a proposed 21-day cease-fire with Lebanon on Thursday and instead urged for the "crushing" of Hezbollah.
The United States, European Union and other allies including several Arab states issued a joint call for a 21-day cease-fire in Lebanon after Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah killed hundreds and displaced tens of thousands in Lebanon this week.
The call for a three-week cease-fire came hours after Israeli army chief Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi on Wednesday told soldiers to prepare for a possible ground offensive into Lebanon.
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."
In a separate statement on X, opposition leader Yair Lapid said the Israeli government should only agree to a seven-day cease-fire.
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."
The right-wing extremist Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party, led by hardline National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, called an emergency meeting in response to reports in the Israeli media of a possible cease-fire.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is dependant on his far-right coalition partners for his political survival.
Smotrich and Ben Gvir have been strong advocates of continuing the war in Gaza, where Israel is carrying out a genocidal war in response to the Oct. 7 Hamas incursion.
