Trump announces a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon
Historic talks between Beirut and Tel Aviv are the first in 34 years.
US President Donald Trump announced a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, starting today, in a move aimed at calming the situation in preparation for a permanent settlement.
Trump explained in a post on the Truth Social platform that he had held talks with Joseph Aoun and Benjamin Netanyahu which resulted in the two sides agreeing to begin an official ceasefire for ten days starting at 5 pm Eastern Time.
A historic meeting after decades before the end of the war
This agreement comes after a historic meeting between the two sides, the first in 34 years, attended by Marco Rubio, in an indication of intensive diplomatic efforts to end the escalation.
The US president also announced that he would invite Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold the first direct talks between the two countries since 1983, stressing that both sides want peace and expressing his belief that peace between Lebanon and Israel could be achieved soon.
US moves to solidify peace between Lebanon and Israel
Trump indicated that he had directed Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Razen Kaine to work with both sides to achieve a lasting peace.
The US president asserted that this would be the 10th war he seeks to end, after successfully settling nine previous international conflicts, according to his claims on Truth Social.
The US-Israeli war with Iran extended to Lebanon on March 2 when the Iranian-backed Hezbollah opened fire on Israel in support of Tehran, leading to a large-scale military escalation. This was followed by an Israeli attack on Lebanese territory, just 15 months after the last major conflict between Israeli forces and Hezbollah.
According to Lebanese authorities, Israeli attacks since March 2 have killed more than 2,100 people in Lebanon, in addition to displacing more than 12 million people.
In contrast, Israel says that Hezbollah attacks have killed two Israeli civilians, while 13 Israeli soldiers have died inside Lebanese territory since the start of the escalation.
