Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a 10-day ceasefire, President Donald Trump announced on Thursday.
Trump’s announcement comes after a Lebanese official told Fox News that Lebanese President Joseph Aoun would not speak to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu until a ceasefire had been established.
“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 in a post on Truth Social.
“On Tuesday, the two Countries met for the first time in 34 years here in Washington, D.C., with our Great Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. I have directed Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Rubio, together with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Razin’ Caine, to work with Israel and Lebanon to achieve a Lasting PEACE. It has been my Honor to solve 9 Wars across the World, and this will be my 10th, so let’s, GET IT DONE!” he added.
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The ceasefire comes after Israeli and Lebanese officials met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House this week. Aoun also spoke with both Rubio and Trump in separate phone calls on Wednesday.
According to the Lebanese presidency’s official X account, Aoun thanked Trump for his efforts to secure a ceasefire in Lebanon and achieve what it described as a lasting peace and stability that could pave the way for a broader regional peace process.
Aoun, who previously served as commander of Lebanon’s U.S.-backed armed forces before becoming president last year, said an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon would be a necessary first step before Lebanese troops could fully deploy to the border region.
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The diplomatic dispute comes as the White House presses for a broader deal to end the regional war that erupted after the Lebanon-based, Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group entered the conflict on March 2 in support of Tehran.
Hezbollah’s intervention opened a new front in Lebanon just 15 months after the last major Israel-Hezbollah war.
Pakistan, which helped mediate the April 8 ceasefire between Israel and Iran, said ending the fighting in Lebanon is essential to preserving that agreement.
“Peace in Lebanon is essential for peace talks,” Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi said.
Fox News’ Efrat Lachter contributed to this report.
