Trump said ceasefire

Washington (dpa) — Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend the ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia by three weeks, U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Thursday.

Writing on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the agreement came after he met with the ambassadors and representatives of both Israel and Lebanon in the Oval Office.

“The Meeting went very well! The United States is going to work with Lebanon in order to help it protect itself from Hezbollah. The Ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon will be extended by THREE WEEKS,” he wrote.

“It was a Great Honor to be a participant at this very Historic Meeting!”

Trump added he intended to host both Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “in the near future.”

The current 10-day ceasefire had been due to expire late on Sunday. Hezbollah initially did not comment on the extension.

Trump said ceasefire

Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh Moawad thanked Trump for presiding over “this historic moment” and his leadership.

“I think with your help, with your support, we can make Lebanon great again,” she said, speaking alongside Trump at a press conference.

Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter said Israel and Lebanon had “never been next to each other more than today.”

“We hope that together under your leadership we can formalize peace in the very near future,” he told Trump.

Trump said there was a “great chance” Israel and Lebanon could see peace this year.

“They are friends about the same things and they’re enemies on the same things,” he said.

Trump said ceasefire

“It has to do with, I guess you could say a couple countries, but certainly we look at Hezbollah, that is where everybody seems to be united. Against them. So they are both very united in that way,” Trump said.

“I think there is a really good chance of having peace. I think it should be an easy one, relative to some of these things we’re working on.”

An initial 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel came into effect on April 17. Both sides have accused each other on several occasions of violating the ceasefire.

Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah flared up again after Hezbollah launched attacks against Israel at the start of the Iran war.

The Israeli military responded by ramping up strikes on Lebanon and occupying parts of southern Lebanon near the Israeli border.

The Lebanese government is not an active party to the hostilities and is seeking de-escalation and a withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon. Israel says it aims to secure the disarmament of Hezbollah and achieve a lasting peace.