Thursday Briefing: A Proposed Cease-Fire between Israel and Hezbollah

Good morning. We’re covering the push to pause fighting between Israel and Hezbollah and Trump’s fading edge in the Electoral College.

Plus, 3,600-year-old cheese.

The rubble of a damaged building after an Israeli strike in Sidon, Lebanon.Credit…Diego Ibarra Sanchez for The New York Times

U.S. and its allies proposed a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah

The U.S., its allies in Europe and several Arab nations yesterday unveiled a joint cease-fire proposal to temporarily end the recent deadly fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. A statement called for “an immediate 21-day cease-fire” to provide space for further negotiations.

“It is time for a settlement on the Israel-Lebanon border that ensures safety and security to enable civilians to return to their homes,” President Biden said in a joint statement with President Emmanuel Macron of France.

The diplomatic push comes after the Israeli military said it had shot down a Hezbollah missile fired at Tel Aviv, the first time that the group took direct aim at the city. Israel’s military also told its soldiers to prepare for a possible ground incursion into Lebanon as it continued its barrage of attacks on the country yesterday. At least 51 people were killed and 223 others wounded in airstrikes, the Lebanese health minister said.