U.S. President Donald Trump has abruptly announced a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, which is scheduled to go into effect at 5 p.m. Eastern time today. Trump said the agreement followed conversations he had with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, both of whom Trump invited to the White House to engage in direct peace talks. |
The deal is welcome news for the Lebanese people who have endured a brutal Israeli bombardment in recent weeks. It also comes as the Trump administration prepares for a potential second round of peace talks with Iranian officials, who have maintained all along that Lebanon was supposed to be included in the Pakistan-mediated ceasefire deal they agreed to last week. |
Whether the truce holds will depend on whether Israel and Hezbollah share a common understanding of their respective obligations, and agree to abide by them. Soon after the deal was announced, an Israeli security official told Reuters that Israel’s forces have no intention of withdrawing from southern Lebanon while the truce is in effect. That is likely to be a sticking point for Hezbollah, which has signaled it will abide by the ceasefire while maintaining that the continued presence of Israeli troops on Lebanese territory gives it “the right to resist.” |