President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that Israel and Lebanon had reached a ceasefire agreement amid ongoing fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “have agreed that in order to achieve PEACE between their Countries, they will formally begin a 10 Day CEASEFIRE at 5 P.M. EST.”
Trump announced that he had instructed Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to collaborate with the respective countries in the pursuit of “a Lasting PEACE.” Additionally, he extended an invitation to Aoun and Netanyahu to participate in peace talks held at the White House.
Netanyahu confirmed in a video statement that he had agreed to a temporary ceasefire. However, he clarified that Israel had not agreed to withdraw from southern Lebanon, a crucial demand of Hezbollah. He also emphasized the need to dismantle the group.
“We are remaining in Lebanon in an expanded security zone,” he said, adding that it was necessary because of the “danger of an invasion” and to prevent fire into Israel.
In a statement acknowledging an agreement between Lebanon and Israel, the State Department announced that the initial 10-day ceasefire period could be extended by mutual agreement between the two nations. This extension would be contingent upon progress in the ongoing negotiations and Lebanon’s effective demonstration of its ability to assert its sovereignty.
A ceasefire in Lebanon “is as important as a ceasefire in Iran,” Tehran’s top negotiator, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said Thursday morning, adding: “In the Islamabad negotiations and afterwards, we have been seriously pursuing efforts to compel the adversaries to establish a permanent ceasefire in all areas of conflict.”
The ceasefire deal grew out of direct negotiations that kicked off Tuesday when the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the U.S. met in Washington. The meeting marked the first direct talks between the countries in decades.
More than 2,100 people have been killed in Lebanon since the war started, according to Lebanese authorities, and more than 1 million have been displaced from their homes.
