WASHINGTON/BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, Apr 24 — Lebanon and Israel have extended their ceasefire for three weeks after a high-level meeting at the White House, United States President Donald Trump said yesterday.
Trump hosted Israel’s ambassador to Washington Yechiel Leiter and Lebanon’s ambassador to the US Nada Moawad in the Oval Office for a second round of US-facilitated talks, a day after Israeli strikes killed at least five people, including a journalist.
“The Meeting went very well! The United States is going to work with Lebanon in order to help it protect itself from Hezbollah,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. Hezbollah, the Iran-aligned armed group fighting Israel, was not present at the talks. It says it has “the right to resist” occupying forces.
Trump added that he looked forward to hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in the near future.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office alongside the participants, Trump said he hoped the leaders would meet during the three-week cessation of hostilities. He said there was a “great chance” the two countries would reach a peace agreement this year.
Vice-President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa also attended the meeting.
The ceasefire, reached after talks between the two nations’ ambassadors to Washington last week, was set to expire on Sunday. It has resulted in a significant reduction in violence, but attacks have continued in southern Lebanon, where Israeli troops have seized a self-declared buffer zone.
‘Make Lebanon great again’
Ambassador Moawad, who entered the meeting seeking an extension of the ceasefire, thanked Trump for hosting the talks.
“I think with your help, with your support, we can make Lebanon great again,” she said.
A Lebanese official earlier said Beirut would push for an Israeli withdrawal, the return of Lebanese detainees in Israel and a delineation of the land border in a next phase of negotiations.
Israel has sought to align with Lebanon’s government against Hezbollah, which Beirut has been attempting to disarm peacefully over the past year.
Asked how the US would help Lebanon fight Hezbollah, Trump did not provide details but said the US had “a great relationship with Lebanon”. He added that Israel must be able to defend itself against attacks from Hezbollah.
Trump also called for Lebanon to abolish laws restricting engagement with Israel. “It’s a crime to talk with Israel?” he said when asked about anti-normalisation laws, which he appeared unfamiliar with. “Well, I’m pretty sure that that will be ended very quickly. I’ll make sure of that,” he added.
The Israeli military said yesterday that it killed two armed individuals in southern Lebanon after identifying them approaching soldiers and posing what it described as an immediate threat.
It was not immediately clear whether the incident was linked to earlier strikes reported in nearby areas by Lebanon’s health ministry, which said an Israeli air strike had killed three people and artillery shelling wounded two others, including a child.
Wednesday marked Lebanon’s deadliest day since the ceasefire took effect on April 16.
Those killed in Israeli strikes included Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil, according to a senior Lebanese military official and her employer, Al-Akhbar newspaper.
Hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel reignited on March 2, when the group opened fire in support of Iran in the regional war.
