President Donald Trump on Thursday announced that the leaders of Israel and Lebanon had reached a ceasefire deal, which came as fighting raged between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "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 said that he had "directed Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Rubio" to work with the countries toward achieving "a Lasting PEACE," adding that he had invited Aoun and Netanyahu to take part in peace talks at the White House.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam welcomed the ceasefire in a post on X, saying it had been a key objective for Lebanon in talks this week.
In a video statement, Netanyahu confirmed he had agreed to a temporary ceasefire, but said that Israel had not agreed to withdraw from southern Lebanon, a key demand of Hezbollah, adding that the group must be dismantled.
"We are remaining in Lebanon in an expanded security zone," he said, adding that this was necessary due to the "danger of an invasion" and to prevent fire into Israel.
It was unclear when or if those displaced from their homes in southern Lebanon by Israel's invasion would be allowed to return. The Lebanese Army warned people to avoid returning to southern villages and to avoid "approaching areas where Israeli occupation forces have advanced."
The ceasefire deal commits Israel and Lebanon to "engaging in good-faith direct negotiations, facilitated by the United States, with the objective of achieving a comprehensive agreement that ensures lasting security, stability, and peace between the two countries," the State Department says.
A statement released by the State Department, which it says was agreed to by Lebanon and Israel, says that the initial 10-day period for the ceasefire "may be extended by mutual agreement between Lebanon and Israel if progress is demonstrated in the negotiations and as Lebanon effectively demonstrates its ability to assert its sovereignty."
Lebanon must "take meaningful steps" to prevent Hezbollah from carrying out any attacks on Israel, the statement adds, while Israel "shall preserve its right to take all necessary measures in self-defense, at any time, against planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks."
Hezbollah, which is also a powerful political party in Lebanon, has not been part of the talks. A senior Hezbollah official told NBC News on Wednesday that “if Israel is fully committed to a complete cessation of hostilities ... then this matter would be subject to consideration by Hezbollah.”
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Trump's announcement comes after Iran insisted that strikes on Lebanon must stop as part of any longer-term deal for peace with the U.S. and Israel.
A ceasefire in Lebanon “is as important as a ceasefire in Iran,” Tehran's top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Thursday morning, adding: "In the Islamabad negotiations and afterwards, we have been seriously pursuing efforts to compel the adversaries to establish a permanent ceasefire in all areas of conflict."
Israeli forces had continued with widespread strikes across Lebanon, as well as pushing on with a ground invasion of the country's south, even after the temporary ceasefire deal in the Iran war that took effect last week. The U.S. and Israel had denied that the agreement covered Lebanon, while Iran pointed to statements from mediator Pakistan suggesting that it did.
The hostilities in Lebanon broke out last month after the U.S. and Israel began their military campaign in Iran, when Hezbollah militants fired rockets at Israel. Israel retaliated with strikes across Lebanon, vowing to establish a sweeping "security zone" along the country's south.
The ceasefire deal grew out of direct negotiations that kicked off Tuesday with an in-person meeting in Washington between the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the U.S. The meeting marked the first direct talks between the countries in decades.
More than 2,100 people have been killed in Lebanon since the war started, according to Lebanese authorities, and more than 1 million have been displaced from their homes.
In Israel, 21 people have been killed since the outbreak of the Iran war, including casualties related to strikes by both Iran and Hezbollah.
