France and the US are working on a plan for a 21-day cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah

NEW YORK (AP) — France’s foreign minister said Wednesday that his country and the United States are working on a proposal for a 21-day cease-fire “to allow for negotiations” in the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that has killed more than 600 people in Lebanon in recent days.

Jean-Noël Barrot told the U.N. Security Council during a meeting about the conflict that the proposal would be released shortly and “we are counting on both parties to accept it without delay.”

Barrot said France, a former colonial power to Lebanon, and the U.S. had consulted with the sides on “final parameters for a diplomatic way out of this crisis,” adding that “war is not unavoidable.”

U.S. deputy ambassador to the U.N. Robert Wood encouraged the council to support the diplomatic efforts but didn’t offer specifics about the plan.

“We are working with other countries on a proposal that we hope will lead to calm and enable discussions to a diplomatic solution,” he said.

Earlier Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. administration was “intensely engaged with a number of partners to deescalate tensions in Lebanon and to work to get a cease-fire agreement that would have so many benefits for all concerned.”

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