France, US working on plan for 21-day ceasefire between Israel, Hezbollah

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US administration was "intensely engaged with a number of partners to de-escalate tensions in Lebanon and to work to get a ceasefire agreement that would have so many benefits for all concerned".

Blinken and other Biden advisers have spent the past three days at and on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly meeting of world leaders in New York lobbying other countries to support the plan, according to US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic conversations.

Americans hope such a cease-fire could lead to longer-term stability along the border between Israel and Lebanon. Even ahead of this week's escalation in Lebanon, months of Israeli and Hezbollah exchanges of fire across the border drove tens of thousands of people from their homes on both sides of the border.