(AFP) – US President Donald Trump announced a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon Thursday, adding that he hoped to host a historic meeting between the leaders of the two countries in the coming days. Trump said that Hezbollah was included in the ceasefire, but according to the US State Department, the truce committed Lebanon itself to dismantle the Iran-backed militant group.
The US leader announced the ceasefire would start within hours, after what he said were “excellent” phone calls with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. “These two Leaders have agreed that in order to achieve PEACE between their Countries, they will formally begin a 10 Day CEASEFIRE at 5 P.M. EST,” or 2100 GMT, Trump said on his Truth Social network.
Netanyahu said the ceasefire with Lebanon offered an opportunity for a “historic peace agreement” with Beirut but insisted disarmament of militant group Hezbollah remained a precondition. The Middle East war began when the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, and Lebanon was pulled in when Hezbollah then attacked Israel on March 2. Since then, Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed more than 2,000 people and displaced upwards of a million, while Israeli ground forces have invaded the country’s south.
Trump spoke about the ceasefire with reporters as he left the White House for a trip to Las Vegas. “It’s very exciting,” Trump said in response to a question from an AFP reporter. “Today they’re going to be having a ceasefire, and that’ll include Hezbollah.” Trump later said Lebanon would “take care of Hezbollah,” adding that he believed the Tehran-backed group would stick to the ceasefire. The State Department said the ceasefire entails a commitment by Beirut to prevent any Hezbollah attacks.
A Hezbollah lawmaker told AFP it would “cautiously adhere” to the ceasefire if Israel stopped attacks. Ibrahim al-Moussawi thanked Iran for having applied pressure in Lebanon’s favor, adding that “the ceasefire would not have happened without Iran considering the ceasefire as equal to closing the Strait of Hormuz.” Netanyahu said Israel agreed to the truce but will maintain a 10-kilometre (6.2-mile) “security zone” along the border in southern Lebanon. He added that Israel maintained two conditions for the ceasefire: Hezbollah’s disarmament and a lasting peace agreement “based on strength.”
With the truce yet to take effect, Trump said he would be inviting Netanyahu and Aoun to the White House following the ceasefire deal. It would be the first time the leaders of Israel and Lebanon have ever met. “They’ll be meeting — probably coming to the White House — over the next four or five days,” Trump said.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam welcomed Trump’s announcement of a ceasefire, saying a truce was a “key Lebanese demand that we have pursued since the very first day of the war” between Hezbollah and Israel. Ahead of the ceasefire, Aoun’s office thanked Trump for his “efforts” to secure the truce. However, the Lebanese president rejected Trump’s request for a direct call with Netanyahu, an official source told AFP.
The ceasefire comes after the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors met in Washington this week — the first meeting of its kind since 1993. That truce could also boost Trump’s continuing efforts to reach a deal to end the war with Iran. Tehran has insisted that a Lebanon ceasefire must be part of any agreement. Trump said Washington was “very close” to a peace deal with Iran after six weeks of war and might travel to Pakistan to sign any agreement.
But fighting continued right up until Trump’s announcement. The Lebanese army said Thursday that Israeli strikes which destroyed the Qasmiyeh bridge over the southern Litani River have cut off the area from the rest of the country. Israel’s military again urged civilians to evacuate the entire area of southern Lebanon up to the Zahrani River, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of the border. Meanwhile, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported clashes in Bint Jbeil, a town near the border where Hezbollah fighters are battling Israeli forces.
burs-dk/mlm – Danny Kemp with Laure Al Khoury in Beirut
© 2024 AFP
