US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, saying the agreement followed “excellent conversations” with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said both leaders had agreed to formally begin the ceasefire at 5 p.m. EST, calling it a step aimed at achieving peace between the two countries.
“These two leaders have agreed that in order to achieve PEACE between their Countries, they will formally begin a 10 Day CEASEFIRE,” Trump said.
Lebanon and Israel held their first direct diplomatic talks in decades on Tuesday in Washington after more than a month of war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.
Trump said he has directed Vice President JD Vance and others to work with Israel and Lebanon to “achieve a Lasting PEACE”.
AOUN REFUSES DIRECT TALKS WITH NETANYAHU
Trump’s announcement comes after Aoun reportedly on Thursday refused to speak to Netanyahu.
A government official familiar with the developments told news agency Associated Press that the remarks were made during a call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and that Washington was “understanding of Lebanon’s position.”
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A second Lebanese official said Aoun explained to Rubio that direct talks with Netanyahu at this point would be inappropriate, given the ongoing airstrikes and destruction in Lebanon and the lack of a ceasefire in place.
Aoun’s office acknowledged a call with Rubio in a public statement, but did not mention the possibility of talks with Netanyahu.
LEBANON SEEKS CEASEFIRE BEFORE TALKS
The Lebanese government has been sharply at odds with Hezbollah over its decision to enter the war, having spent the last year seeking to secure the peaceful disarmament of the group founded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in 1982.
Beirut banned Hezbollah’s military activities on March 2.
Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors held rare talks in Washington on Tuesday, but contact between Netanyahu and Aoun would be a major milestone in ties between the two countries, which have remained in a state of war since Israel was established in 1948.
Hezbollah opposes contacts between Lebanon and Israel.
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Earlier, Gila Gamliel, a member of Israel’s security cabinet, told Israel’s Army Radio that Netanyahu would “speak for the first time with the president of Lebanon after so many years of no contact between the two countries”.
Aoun had said early in the war he would be open to direct talks, but Lebanon’s position is that a ceasefire should precede negotiations.
In a statement on Thursday, he said a ceasefire would be the “natural entry point for direct negotiations” with Israel.
Aoun, who commanded Lebanon’s U.S.-backed military before becoming president last year, said Israel’s withdrawal would be a “fundamental step to consolidate the ceasefire” so that Lebanese troops could deploy to the south.
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FIGHTING CONTINUES IN SOUTH LEBANON
Fighting continued to rage in south Lebanon, notably in the Lebanese border town of Bint Jbeil, a Hezbollah stronghold and strategic prize, which Netanyahu said on Wednesday the Israeli military was about to “overcome”.
A senior Lebanese official said Lebanon believed Israel wanted to secure a victory in Bint Jbeil before diplomatic progress could be made. An Israeli strike destroyed the last bridge over the Litani River into the south, a senior Lebanese security source said, fully severing almost a tenth of Lebanon from the rest of the country after Israel destroyed other crossings during the war.
Hezbollah announced new rocket attacks on Israel. In Israel, sirens rang out warning of incoming rockets, sending residents of several northern Israeli towns running to bomb shelters. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Israeli attacks have killed more than 2,100 people in Lebanon since March 2 and forced more than 1.2 million to flee, Lebanese authorities say. Hezbollah attacks have killed two Israeli civilians, while 13 Israeli soldiers have died in Lebanon since March 2, Israel says.
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ISRAEL VOWS ‘NO-GO’ ZONE FOR HEZBOLLAH
The Israeli military’s chief of staff said on Wednesday the area south of the Litani would be a “no-go zone for Hezbollah operatives”, reflecting Israel’s declared aim to keep control of a swathe of Lebanon south of the river that meets the Mediterranean about 30 km (20 miles) north of Israel’s border. Washington expressed optimism on Wednesday about reaching a deal to end the Iran war. The sides agreed to a two-week ceasefire in the Iran war on April 8, following mediation by Pakistan.
Israel and the U.S. have said the campaign against Hezbollah was not part of that ceasefire, though Pakistan’s prime minister had said the truce would include Lebanon, as demanded by Iran.
A senior Israeli official and a senior Lebanese official said on Wednesday that Netanyahu’s government was under heavy pressure from Washington to reach a ceasefire in Lebanon.
A senior US administration official said on Wednesday the Trump administration had not asked for a ceasefire, but the U.S. president “would welcome the end of hostilities in Lebanon as part of a peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon”.
(With inputs from AP and Reuters)
