ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - US President Joe Biden and France’s Emmanuel Macron issued a joint statement on Wednesday, calling for "a temporary ceasefire" on the Israel-Lebanon border, as the recent escalation of tensions between the Israeli military and Hezbollah threatens “a much broader conflict.”

“It is time for a settlement on the Israel-Lebanon border that ensures safety and security to enable civilians to return to their homes,” read a joint statement from Biden and Macron on Wednesday, adding that they have been working on a ceasefire proposal to avoid further escalations.

In addition to the US, France, and the European Union, the proposed truce has so far been endorsed by nine other countries, including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar from the region.

A joint statement from the endorsing parties described the situation between Israel and Hezbollah as “intolerable”, stressing the need for a diplomatic resolution.

“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,” read the statement, calling on both Tel Aviv and Beirut to endorse the truce.

Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah have been engaged in daily cross-border exchange of fire over the past two weeks, exacerbated by a massive cyberattack involving communication devices in Lebanon last week.

Israel appears to have rejected the proposal.

A statement from Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that the Israeli prime minister “has not even responded” to the proposed truce, adding that he has ordered the military "to continue the fighting with full force.”

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on Wednesday announced they have launched a new wave of airstrikes targeting Hezbollah positions in Lebanon. The forces also reported that nearly 45 projectiles were fired from Lebanon toward the western Galilee area, adding that some of them were intercepted while the rest fell in open areas

Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Foreign Minister Israel Katz, two key members of Netanyahu’s government, both rejected the American-French proposal in social media posts.

"Hezbollah's surrender or war -- this is the only way to bring back the residents and security to the north and the country,” said Smotrich.

“There will be no ceasefire in the north. We will continue to fight against the terrorist organization Hezbollah with all our might until victory and the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes,” wrote Katz on X.

The media office of Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Wednesday denied reports suggesting he has signed the ceasefire proposal following a meeting with Biden and White House advisor Amos Hochstein, who is leading efforts to secure a truce between Lebanon and Israel.

“This statement is completely incorrect,” read the statement from Mikati’s office, noting that they welcome the Biden-Macron joint statement, but stressed that “the real test lies in its application through obliging Israel to implementing international resolutions."

In what has been called “the bloodiest day in Lebanon in a generation,” Israel launched a widespread aerial offensive on southern Lebanon on Monday, killing over 550 people and wounding nearly 2,000 others.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday said that over 90,000 people from southern and eastern Lebanon have been displaced to the northwest since Monday.

Around 1,250 people have been killed in Lebanon and nearly 200,000 displaced since October, according to Guterres, while Israel has reported 49 deaths and 60,000 people fleeing northern Israel during that same period.