Israel dismisses global calls for a ceasefire with Hezbollah and continues a bombing campaign that has killed more than 700 people in Lebanon since Monday.

    The White House says the US-led international call for a ceasefire in Lebanon was “coordinated” with Israel, despite Israel rejecting the proposal.

    US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Washington will continue backing Israel as Tel Aviv secures a new $8.7bn US military assistance package, and dismissed “red lines” in Israel’s assaults on Gaza and Lebanon.

    Gaza authorities have denounced the “inhumane and immoral way” Israel treats dead Palestinians after 88 unidentifiable bodies were returned by Israeli authorities.

    At least 41,534 people have been killed and 96,092 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza. In Israel, the number killed in the Hamas-led attacks on October 7 is at least 1,139, while more than 200 people were taken captive.

    German foreign minister urges Israel, Hezbollah to accept ceasefire proposal

    Speaking at the UN General Assembly, Annalena Baerbock called for Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah to commit to a 21-day ceasefire proposal tabled by several countries this week.

    “A broader regional escalation would not bring anyone long-lasting security,” she said during her address in New York on Thursday.

    Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have joined with Western nations, including the US, France, Canada, Germany, and Japan, in calling for a three-week ceasefire in Lebanon.

    Germany’s top diplomat also said that while a lack of progress on a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was frustrating, “we are not giving up on seeking a political vision for Israelis and Palestinians to be able to live peacefully side by side in two states”.

    “For me, resignation is simply not an option, because that would mean that the playbook of terrorism and extremism carries the day,” Baerbock said.

    Fears Israel’s bombing of Lebanon could draw in Iran as conflict grows: Analyst

    More from Majid Rafizadeh, Harvard scholar and president of the International American Council on the Middle East, who spoke to Al Jazeera earlier.

    “Another danger of this conflict is that it can, yes, drag Iran into the conflict because Iran is Hezbollah’s strongest ally in the region,” Rafizadeh said.

    “Iran will feel that it is obliged to defend its political ally, and I think what you will see is tit-for-tat retaliation. For example, Israel is now bombarding Lebanon. Hezbollah is going to retaliate, and Israel will use more force to respond and this could lead to a vicious cycle that could drag Iran into the war,” he said.

    But Iran has been “very careful” to not be dragged into the war so far, Rafizadeh said.

    Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has said that Israel is “laying traps for Iran to be drawn into the war, which later will draw the US also into the war”, he said.

    “So I think this is really a dangerous development and if it is not contained, it can turn into a wide conflict in the region and affect every other country.”