President Donald Trump announced Thursday that Lebanon and Israel will begin a 10-day ceasefire, a move seen as an important step toward easing hostilities linked to tensions between the United States and Iran.
The ceasefire is expected to start Thursday evening, Trump said.
Trump said the agreement followed conversations he had with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. The violence between Lebanon and Israel has been viewed as a proxy conflict, with the United States maintaining its strong alliance with Israel while militants in Lebanon align with Iran.
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I just had excellent conversations with the Highly Respected President Joseph Aoun, of Lebanon, and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, of Israel. These two Leaders 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 wrote on Truth Social.
Lebanon confirmed its agreement to the ceasefire, but had said Aoun would not speak directly with Netanyahu.
“I welcome the announcement of the ceasefire declared by President Trump, which is a central Lebanese demand we have pursued since the first day of the war, and was our primary goal in the Washington meeting on Tuesday,” Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam wrote on X.
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Netanyahu also confirmed that Israel would agree to the temporary ceasefire.
Trump said he has invited Netanyahu and Aoun to the White House for direct talks, but it’s unclear whether the two sides have agreed to the meeting.
President Donald Trump suggested that the U.S. and Iran could resume in-person negotiations as early as this weekend. Iran has signaled that a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon is key to resuming talks with the U.S.
The United States and Iran agreed to a fragile two-week cease-fire last week, which led to direct talks in Pakistan last Saturday. Those meetings ended without any peace agreement, and the two sides have not met since.
A key U.S. objective has been getting Iran to halt its nuclear program.