By Owen Evans
U.S. President Donald Trump said Israel and Lebanon have agreed to begin a 10-day ceasefire.
In an April 16 post on Truth Social, Trump said he had “excellent conversations” with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, adding that the two sides agreed to formally begin a ceasefire at 5 p.m. ET on Thursday.
He said the agreement followed rare talks between the two countries in Washington, hosted by U.S. 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.
Trump had said he was pushing for “breathing room” amid parallel U.S. efforts to reach a diplomatic settlement to the Iran war.
“It has been a long time since the two leaders have spoken, like 34 years. It will happen tomorrow. Nice!” Trump wrote in a April 16 Truth Social post.
Prior to Thursday’s announcement, the Lebanese presidency said in an April 16 statement that Aoun thanked Trump for his efforts to reach a ceasefire and restore stability, urging continued U.S. engagement to end the fighting as soon as possible.
In an April 16 post on X, the Lebanese presidency said that a phone call took place that afternoon between Trump and Aoun.
“During the call, President Aoun renewed his thanks for the efforts Trump is exerting to reach a ceasefire in Lebanon and secure lasting peace and stability, paving the way for achieving the peace process in the region,” it said.
In an April 15 post on X, the U.S. Embassy in Beirut said that U.S. Ambassador Lebanon Michel Issa met with Trump and Rubio on April 15.
“They affirmed their commitment to ongoing talks and the Embassy’s efforts in Beirut to support the restoration of Lebanon’s monopoly of force and sovereignty,” it said.
The discussions come as Israel is already in the midst of operations beyond Iran. Trump announced a two-week ceasefire in the six-week Iran war on April 7.
On April 8, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched its largest coordinated strike in Lebanon, targeting more than 100 command centers and military sites of the Hezbollah terrorist group in Beirut, the Beqaa Valley, and southern Lebanon.
On April 16, an Israeli strike severed the last bridge linking southern Lebanon to the rest of the country, a senior Lebanese security official told Reuters, adding that the strike “shattered” the bridge and left no possibility of repairing it.
In an April 16 post on Telegram, Iranian state news outlet INRA reported that the speaker of the Iranian Parliament said that a Lebanon ceasefire was crucial.
In a phone call with the speaker of the parliament of Lebanon, Nabih Berri, on Thursday, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said that “a ceasefire in Lebanon is as significant to us as a ceasefire in Iran.”
Senior Israeli officials told Epoch Magazine Israel that the ceasefire would follow the same framework as the ceasefire with Hezbollah from November 2024. Specifically, Israeli forces will remain on the lines they have reached in Lebanon and will not withdraw, while retaining the right to self-defense against Hezbollah attacks as well as to thwart emerging threats.
According to a 2024 Congress report, Hezbollah is an Iran-backed U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization operating in Lebanon.
It states that Hezbollah is a partner force of the Iranian regime, helping Tehran “project power across the region, train allied militias (reportedly including Hamas), threatening U.S. interests and allies across the region.”
It notes that Hezbollah has used Israel’s presence in the Shebaa Farms and other disputed areas in the Lebanon–Syria–Israel tri-border region to justify ongoing violence against Israel.
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