Israel’s Netanyahu appears to downplay hopes for ceasefire with Hezbollah

A man carries a damaged bicycle at the site of an Israeli air strike in Saksakieh, south Lebanon (Mohammed Zaatari/AP)

The Israeli prime minister has appeared to downplay hopes of an imminent truce with Hezbollah after the United States and its allies called for an immediate 21-day ceasefire to “provide space for diplomacy”.

In a statement released as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was en route to New York to attend the UN General Assembly, his office said there was only a proposal on the table and that he had not yet responded to it.