Trump Announces 10-Day Israel-Lebanon Ceasefire, Promises White House Talks

President Trump announced Thursday that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a 10-day ceasefire, halting weeks of intense fighting between Israeli forces and the Tehran-backed militant group Hezbollah. The ceasefire took effect at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

In a Truth Social post, Trump said he had "excellent conversations" with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and announced plans to invite both leaders to the White House for what he called "the first meaningful talks between Israel and Lebanon since 1983."

The conflict escalated on March 2, two days after the U.S. and Israel launched military operations against Iran, when Hezbollah began firing missiles across the Lebanese-Israeli border. Israel responded with an intense bombing campaign and ground invasion.

Lebanon's government, which came to power in early 2025 on a reformist platform that included disarming non-state military groups, had been openly opposed to Hezbollah's decision to enter the war. Officials moved to criminalize the group's military activities, expelled Iran's ambassador, and banned the Iranian Revolutionary Guard from the country.

The path to Thursday's announcement was complicated. When Pakistan brokered a U.S.-Iran truce last week, Tehran demanded that any ceasefire include Lebanon. Israel and Washington initially dismissed that condition. Lebanon's government, for its part, wanted to negotiate its own separate diplomatic track rather than be treated as a bargaining chip in Iran's talks.

Hezbollah pushed back against that approach, arguing that Lebanon's weak military position meant Beirut should lean on Tehran's leverage rather than negotiate directly with Israel. The group accused the Lebanese government of offering "free concessions" to an enemy state.

Israel and Lebanon have no formal diplomatic relations and have maintained a hostile relationship since Israel's founding in 1948. A 1955 Lebanese law technically bans Lebanese citizens from any contact with Israelis, though it is selectively enforced.

Whether the 10-day pause leads to lasting negotiations remains to be seen.