US President Donald Trump
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to begin a 10day ceasefire at 5 pm EST (2100 GMT), signalling a pause in Israel’s conflict with Iran-backed Hezbollah that has raged in parallel to the war with Iran.A US official said the ceasefire would start on Thursday. Israel’s campaign in Lebanon has emerged as a major obstacle to securing a peace deal sought by Trump to end the war on Iran he launched with Israel in late Feb. US and Iranian officials are weighing a second round of in-person talks in Islamabad in the coming days and a cessation of fighting in Lebanon could clear the way for an agreement on other tricky issues including Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.Pakistan’s foreign ministry earlier said that peace in Lebanon was essential for talks it is mediating.Trump said he had held excellent conversations with both Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu said in a video statement he had agreed to the 10-day pause and that there was an opportunity to make an historic deal with Lebanon. But there was uncertainty over whether a truce could hold between bitter enemies Israel and Hezbollah. Netanyahu said in his video message he had not agreed to Hezbollah’s demand to withdraw forces deployed in southern Lebanon back to the international border between the two countries and would maintain an extensive “security zone” up to the border with Syria. Israel’s main demand remained that Hezbollah must be dismantled, he added.In its first comment after Trump’s announcement, Hezbollah said any ceasefire must not allow Israel freedom of movement within Lebanon. In a statement issued by its media office, the group said the presence of Israeli troops on Lebanese territory granted Lebanon and its people the “right to resist”.Trump said he had directed US vice president JD Vance, secretary of state Marco Rubio and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff Dan Caine to work with the two countries to achieve lasting peace. “Both sides want to see PEACE, and I believe that will happen, quickly!” he said in a post on Truth Social. He also said that leaders of the two countries could meet at the White House. “It’s very exciting. I think we’re going to have a deal where we’re going to have a meeting, first time in 44 years, and Lebanon will be meeting with Israel, and they’re probably going to do it at the White House over the next week or two,” Trump said.This is a Reuters story
