Israel’s Netanyahu Appears to Downplay Hopes For a Cease-Fire as Deadly Strikes Continue in Lebanon

TEL AVIV, Israel — The Israeli prime minister on Thursday appeared to downplay hopes of an imminent truce with Hezbollah after the United States and its allies called for an immediate 21-day cease-fire to “provide space for diplomacy.”

In a statement released as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was en route to New York to attend the U.N. General Assembly, his office said there was only a proposal on the table and that he had not yet responded to it. The statement also denied that there...