BEIRUT/WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM, Apr 17 — Israel and Lebanon have agreed to begin a 10-day ceasefire at 5 pm EST on Thursday (6 am tomorrow in Malaysia) following talks brokered by Washington, signalling a pause in Israel’s conflict with Iran-backed Hezbollah, which has unfolded alongside the war with Iran.
US President Donald Trump spoke to Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and twice to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone as the agreement came together, the White House said. Trump added that he expects to host both leaders in Washington within the next one to two weeks.
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, launched with Israel in late February. The conflict has disrupted global energy trade, driven up oil prices and raised the risk of wider economic fallout.
US and Iranian officials are considering a second round of in-person talks in Islamabad in the coming days, and a cessation of fighting in Lebanon could help clear the way for progress on other complex issues, including Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry had earlier said that peace in Lebanon was essential for the talks, which it is mediating.
Trump told reporters after the ceasefire announcement that Israel and Lebanon would work towards a longer-term agreement, adding that Lebanon had agreed to “take care of Hezbollah”.
The US State Department said both countries had agreed to a six-point memorandum outlining their intention to work towards lasting peace, with Washington facilitating the talks.
“Lebanon and Israel have reached an understanding in which both nations will work to create conditions conducive to lasting peace between the two countries, full recognition of each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and establishing genuine security along their shared border, while preserving Israel’s inherent right to self-defence,” it said.
Netanyahu said in a video statement that he had agreed to the 10-day pause and that there was an opportunity to reach a historic deal with Lebanon.
However, uncertainty remains over whether the truce will hold between Israel and Hezbollah. Netanyahu said he had not agreed to Hezbollah’s demand for Israeli forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon to the international border, and that Israel would maintain an extensive “security zone” up to the border with Syria.
He added that Israel’s main demand remains the dismantling of Hezbollah.
In its first response following Trump’s announcement, Hezbollah said any ceasefire must not allow Israel freedom of movement within Lebanon. In a statement, the group said the presence of Israeli troops on Lebanese territory gives Lebanon and its people the “right to resist”.
Lebanon was drawn into the regional conflict on March 2, when Hezbollah opened fire in support of Tehran, prompting an Israeli offensive just 15 months after their last major confrontation.
Israeli attacks have killed more than 2,100 people in Lebanon since March 2 and displaced more than 1.2 million, according to Lebanese authorities. Hezbollah attacks have killed two Israeli civilians, while 13 Israeli soldiers have died in Lebanon over the same period, Israel said.
Israeli forces have entered parts of southern Lebanon and have pledged to maintain control over territory extending to the Litani River, which meets the Mediterranean Sea about 30 km north of Israel’s border. Residents south of the river were ordered to evacuate during the conflict.
Israeli troops have since destroyed villages in the area, saying their objective is to create a “buffer zone” to protect northern Israeli towns from Hezbollah attacks.
In Beirut, Lebanese doctor Fadi Sharara told Reuters he was not optimistic about the ceasefire. “I don’t think it will succeed because it is impossible for Hezbollah to surrender its weapons and there is no trust,” he said.
Senior Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah, speaking to Reuters shortly before Trump’s announcement, said the group had been informed by Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon that a ceasefire could begin on Thursday evening. After the announcement, he confirmed it would last 10 days.
Asked whether Hezbollah would commit to the truce, Fadlallah said everything depended on Israel halting all forms of hostilities, and credited Iran’s diplomatic efforts for the development.
The Lebanese government has been at odds with Hezbollah over its decision to enter the conflict, having spent the past year seeking the group’s peaceful disarmament. Hezbollah was founded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in 1982.
Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors held rare talks in Washington on Tuesday despite objections from Hezbollah.
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam welcomed the ceasefire announcement, saying it had been the country’s main demand throughout the conflict.
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 both sides 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.
Trump plans a meeting
In a separate post, Trump said he would invite Netanyahu and Aoun to the White House for “meaningful talks” between the two countries, which have remained in a formal state of war since Israel’s establishment in 1948.
Trump had earlier said Lebanese and Israeli leaders would speak on Thursday (tomorrow) for the first time in decades. However, Lebanese officials said Aoun did not speak with Netanyahu, and that Lebanon’s embassy in Washington had informed US officials he would not do so in the near future.
Fighting continued in southern Lebanon today, particularly in the border town of Bint Jbeil, a Hezbollah stronghold and strategic location. A senior Lebanese official said Israel may be seeking a decisive outcome there before diplomatic progress can be made.
An Israeli strike destroyed the last bridge over the Litani River into southern Lebanon, according to a senior Lebanese security source, cutting off the area from the rest of the country after other crossings were previously destroyed.
