A 21-day ceasefire proposal aimed at halting the conflict in Lebanon has become the latest flashpoint in strained relations between the Biden administration and Israel after the country’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flatly rejected the terms of the proposal on Thursday has rejected.

As the prime minister flew to New York ahead of his Friday address to the annual high-level meeting of the United Nations, his office released a statement saying he had “not even responded to the US and French proposal.” that he had ordered the Israeli military to continue the fight against the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah “with full force.”

Netanyahu’s rejection came just hours after White House officials praised a joint statement from the United States, the European Union and six other countries endorsing the plan for a 21-day ceasefire, a move described as a “major breakthrough.” was announced.

Washington said Israel was consulted before issuing the joint statement but struggled to explain the apparent discrepancy.

“We would not have worked on this statement the way we did. “We would not have issued it when and as we did if it had not been supported by the conversations we had with senior Israeli officials yesterday,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Thursday.

But behind the scenes, several U.S. officials familiar with the negotiations told ABC News that getting Israel to sign a ceasefire was always an uphill battle for them.

Israel sees a break as beneficial for Hezbollah because it could allow it to regroup and strike back against Israel after last week’s attacks on the militant group’s communications system that were widely attributed to Israel, according to officials.

They say the Israeli government also sees a ceasefire of any length as contradicting its main goal, which is to allow those displaced from areas near the northern border to return to their homes as quickly as possible.

Israel’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Danny Danon, told reporters on Wednesday that Israel would prefer to end its conflict with Hezbollah through diplomatic channels, but that “if we fail, we will use all means at our disposal.” to return our residents to their homes.”

“We are very honest,” Danon said, adding that he believes the mediators “know exactly what we want.”

The recent split between the US and Israel is likely to add further strain to Netanyahu’s already expected controversial speech at the United Nations on Friday.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres warned the body’s Security Council on Wednesday that “all hell is breaking loose in Lebanon.”

The UN refugee agency added on Thursday that more than 90,000 people had been displaced in Lebanon in just 72 hours.

Shortly after Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, Hezbollah – a US-designated terrorist organization – began firing rockets across Lebanon’s border with Israel. The low-level conflict lasted nearly a year and threatened to escalate repeatedly before Israel stepped up its military campaign earlier this month.