White House says Tel Aviv-Beirut cease-fire call was coordinated with Israel

WASHINGTON

The White House said on Thursday that an all-out war between Israel and Lebanon is not the answer, a day after the US and its allies called for a temporary cease-fire in a joint statement, which it said was coordinated with Israel.

"We and our allies partners don't believe in all-out war. That's the answer here. That's not we want to see," said spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre during a press briefing.

Late Wednesday, the US, EU, and nine other nations called on Israel and Hezbollah to agree to a 21-day cease-fire amid an escalation in their cross-border warfare.

Jean-Pierre said the call for the temporary truce aimed to open up space to achieve a deal for civilians on both sides of the border to return to their homes and securely.

"And I would add that the statement was indeed coordinated with the Israeli side," said the spokeswoman.

She also noted that there are now discussions ongoing in New York.

"Our teams are continuing to have discussions, and so you'll probably hear more later in the day, but those discussions are ongoing," Jean-Pierre added.

Israel has pounded Lebanon since early Monday, killing at least 677 victims and injuring more than 2,500, according to figures released by the Health Ministry.

The Lebanese resistance group, Hezbollah, and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of Israel's onslaught against Gaza, which has killed more than 41,500 victims, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, last Oct. 7.

The international community has warned against the strikes on Lebanon, as they raise the specter of spreading the Gaza conflict regionally.