Beirut (Lebanon) (AFP) - The United States and its allies pressed for a 21-day ceasefire in the sharp escalation of fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah that has threatened to plunge Lebanon into an all-out war.

Israeli aerial bombardment of Hezbollah strongholds around Lebanon has killed hundreds of people this week, while the militant group has hit back with barrages of rockets and said a ballistic missile targeted Tel Aviv.

Israel’s army chief told soldiers to prepare for a possible ground offensive against Hezbollah, deepening fears that the battle may worsen.

Lebanon’s official National News Agency described Israel’s bombardment in areas near the ancient city of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon as “the most violent” of recent days.

Nour Hamad, a 22-year-old student in Baalbek, described living “in a state of terror” all week.

“We spent four or five days without sleep, not knowing if we will wake up in the morning,” she said.

The situation in Lebanon has become “intolerable” and “is in nobody’s interest, neither of the people of Israel nor of the people of Lebanon,” said a joint statement from US President Joe Biden, his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, and other allies.

“We call for an immediate 21 day ceasefire across the Lebanon-Israel border to provide space for diplomacy towards the conclusion of a diplomatic settlement.”

The statement was issued jointly with Western powers, Japan and key Gulf Arab powers – Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – as leaders met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon and warned, “Hell is breaking loose.”

- Exodus -

For many on both sides of the border, the violence has sparked bitter memories of the 2006 war that killed 1,200 people in Lebanon, most of them civilians, and 160 Israelis, most of them soldiers.

According to the UN, the latest violence has sparked an exodus of around 90,000 people from their homes in traditional Hezbollah strongholds for safer areas elsewhere in the tiny Mediterranean country.

Israel said it welcomed diplomacy on Lebanon but did not commit to a ceasefire, vowing to pursue its goal of degrading Hezbollah.

“We are grateful for all those who are making a sincere effort with diplomacy to avoid escalation, to avoid a full war,” Israel’s envoy to the United Nations, Danny Danon, told reporters.

But he added: “We will use all means at our disposal, in accordance with international law, to achieve our aims.”

Netanyahu delayed his departure for New York until Thursday, where he too is due to speak at the UN General Assembly.

“We are striking Hezbollah with blows it never imagined. We are doing this with full force, we are doing this with guile. One thing I promise you: we will not rest until they return home”, Netanyahu said of those displaced in Israel.

- ‘Attacking all day’ -

The ceasefire call came hours after Israel’s army chief, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, told troops to be on alert for a possible entry into Lebanon.

“We are attacking all day, both to prepare the ground for the possibility of your entry, but also to continue striking Hezbollah,” he told a tank brigade, according to a statement.

Iran-backed Hezbollah had earlier Wednesday it had targeted Israel’s Mossad spy agency headquarters on Tel Aviv’s outskirts – the first time it has claimed a ballistic missile firing in almost a year of cross-border clashes sparked by the Gaza war.

Tel Aviv resident Hedva Fadlon, 61, told AFP: “The situation is difficult. We feel the pressure and the tension… I don’t think anyone in the world would like to live like this.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the Middle East was facing a “full-scale catastrophe” and warned Tehran would back Lebanon by “all means” if Israel escalated its offensive.

The Israeli military said Wednesday it had hit more than 2,000 Hezbollah targets over the past three days, including 60 Hezbollah intelligence sites.

Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes on Wednesday killed 72 people and injured 400.

Cross-border clashes have intensified after Israeli raids on Monday killed at least 558 people in the deadliest day of violence in Lebanon since its 1975-90 civil war.

Israel earlier this month said it was shifting its focus from Gaza, where it has been fighting a war with Hamas since the October 7 attack, to securing its border with Lebanon.

Hezbollah, which says it is acting in support of Hamas, has been fighting near-daily clashes with Israeli troops across the Lebanon border since October, forcing tens of thousands of people on both sides to flee their homes.

The violence escalated dramatically last week, when coordinated communications device blasts that Hezbollah blamed on Israel killed 39 people and wounded almost 3,000.

Then Israel carried out an air strike on Hezbollah’s south Beirut stronghold, killing a top military commander and other fighters and civilians. The toll from that strike has risen to 55, including seven children, Lebanon said.

- Reservists called up -

On Wednesday Israel called up two reserve brigades “for operational missions in the northern arena”.

Efforts to end the war in Gaza, which analysts said were key to stopping the escalation in Lebanon, remain stalled.

The war in Gaza began with Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures that include hostages killed in captivity.

Of the 251 hostages seized by militants, 97 are still held in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 41,495 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to figures provided by the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The UN has described the figures as reliable.

burs/ser/it