Trump announces 10‑day ceasefire
President Trump tweeted that he had secured a 10‑day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, calling it his 10th 'solved' war in that post. (x.com). The announcement circulated widely on social platforms and drew immediate public reaction. (x.com)
President Donald Trump said on April 16 that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to a 10-day ceasefire, with the pause set to begin at 5 p.m. Eastern time. (state.gov) The U.S. State Department then published the terms, saying the halt would last an initial 10 days and could be extended if both sides agreed. The text said the understanding followed direct talks in Washington on April 14 between Israeli and Lebanese officials, brokered by the United States. (state.gov) The document says Israel will stop offensive operations in Lebanon by land, air and sea during the pause, while Lebanon is expected to prevent Hezbollah and other armed groups from launching attacks into Israel. It also says Israel retains what the text calls a right to act against planned, imminent or ongoing attacks. (state.gov) The ceasefire follows more than six weeks of war between Israel and Hezbollah after Hezbollah opened fire on March 2 in support of Iran, according to Reuters. Lebanese authorities said the fighting had killed more than 2,000 people in Lebanon and displaced about 1.2 million before the truce was announced. (yahoo.com) By early April 17, the United Nations said the ceasefire had taken effect at midnight in Beirut and described it as a pause after weeks of fighting. The U.N. also said the recent fighting had left more than 2,100 people dead and more than one million displaced. (news.un.org) The agreement is unusual because Israel and Lebanon have been formally at war since 1948, and the two governments only held rare direct talks in Washington this week. Associated Press reported that the April 14 meeting was the first direct diplomatic contact between the countries in decades. (military.com) The deal also leaves a central question unresolved: Israel has been fighting Hezbollah inside Lebanon, not the Lebanese state itself. Hezbollah said any ceasefire had to cover all Lebanese territory and not give Israel freedom of movement, while Israeli officials had been signaling they wanted to keep a security zone in southern Lebanon. (military.com; yahoo.com) Trump said he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun before announcing the truce, and multiple outlets reported that he invited both men to the White House for talks. Whether the 10-day pause turns into a longer deal now depends on whether the fighting actually stops and whether those negotiations continue. (cnbc.com; military.com)
