Washington/Jerusalem/The President of the United States, Donald Trump, announced this Thursday that Israel and Lebanon have agreed as of today on a ten-day ceasefire to achieve peace, after holding “excellent” phone calls with the leaders of both nations.
“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, to achieve PEACE between their countries, they will formally begin a 10-day ceasefire at 5:00 pm EST,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social network.
The American announced in a second message that he will invite Netanyahu and Aoun to the White House “for the first significant talks between Israel and Lebanon since 1983, a long time ago,” without currently offering a specific date for the meeting.
In his publication, Trump recalled the bilateral dialogue held in Washington last Tuesday between Israel and Lebanon, who “met for the first time in 34 years with our great Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.”
According to Trump, “it has been an honor” to “have resolved nine wars around the world, and this will be the tenth”
“I have instructed Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Rubio, along with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan ‘Razin’ Caine, to work with Israel and Lebanon to achieve lasting PEACE,” he said in Truth Social.
According to Trump, “it has been an honor” to “have resolved nine wars around the world, and this will be the tenth.”
The Israeli Army, in any case, will maintain its presence in southern Lebanon once the ceasefire in the country comes into effect, according to various Israeli media reports based on a conversation between Netanyahu and his cabinet.
Israeli television Channel 12 claims that Netanyahu warned his ministers that Israel will remain in the “security zone” of southern Lebanon, as he refers to the perimeter against which he launched a ground invasion up to the Litani River.
So far, Israel has five Army divisions participating in the invasion of southern Lebanon (and a sixth on Mount Dov, between the occupied Syrian Golan Heights and Lebanon), with most troops stationed close to the border, but also with groups carrying out raids deeper into the country.
The diary Yedioth Ahronoth explains that the troops will remain in their current positions. Sources from this newspaper stated that troops will immediately attack “any emerging threat” during the ten-day ceasefire.
Other media assure that the truce will follow a model similar to the one that was in force between November 2024 and last March 2, when hostilities between the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah and Israel resumed. Throughout this period, the Israeli Army attacked southern Lebanon almost daily, alleging the rearmament of Hezbollah, which caused hundreds of deaths.
Sources from this newspaper stated that troops will immediately attack “any emerging threat” during the ten-day ceasefire.
In recent days, the Israeli armed forces and Netanyahu himself announced the imminent seizure of the city of Bint Jbeil (southeast Lebanon), ensuring that it was a stronghold of the Shiite group.
During the war, Defense Minister Israel Katz has reiterated that Israel would maintain control of southern Lebanon even in the event of a truce.
For its part, the Israeli press reported that the ministers of Netanyahu’s government welcomed the announcement of the ceasefire with indignation, and reproached him for Trump announcing it before the cabinet approved it.
According to Yedioth AhronothNetanyahu called the call with his cabinet to give five minutes notice.
The tension between Israel and Lebanon threatened to shake the fragile two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran, which will end on April 22 while peace talks are expected to resume in Pakistan.
The conflict in the Middle East, initiated by the United States and Israel on February 28, not only impacts the increase in instability in the area but has also affected the world economy, by interrupting transit through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic passage through which 20% of the world’s oil circulated.
The death toll in Lebanon due to Israeli attacks in the last six weeks has now risen to 2,196, including 172 children, and the number of injured is 7,185, of which 661 are also minors, according to figures released this Thursday by the Emergency Operations center, belonging to the Ministry of Public Health.
