President Donald Trump said Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend their ceasefire with Hezbollah by three weeks after what he described as successful talks at the White House on Thursday. Trump said the meeting between the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors went “very well,” and he announced the extension after the agreement was reached amid continuing ceasefire violations.
Speaking to reporters as the ambassadors and U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were present, Trump said the ceasefire would extend for three weeks. In an Oval Office gathering, he said, “they do have Hezbollah to think about,” acknowledging the central role the Iranian-backed group has played in the fighting.
The initial 10-day ceasefire, which began last Friday, was due to expire Monday. Trump indicated the U.S. would work with Lebanon as part of the effort to pressure and structure any next steps, saying he expected the U.S. to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in Washington “in the next couple of weeks.”
During the same Oval Office setting, Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter told Trump, “We hope that together, under your leadership, we can formalize peace between Israel and Lebanon in the very near future.” Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad thanked Trump “for all your effort to help and to support Lebanon,” and referenced Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan when she said, “And I think with your help, with your support, we can make Lebanon great again.”
Lebanon’s outlook extends beyond the immediate pause in fighting. Aoun, the Lebanese president, said a day earlier that the talks would include a request for an end to Israeli home demolitions in villages and towns occupied by Israel after the war that began on March 2. In comments released by his office, Aoun also said preparations were under way for wider-ranging negotiations aimed at fully stopping Israeli attacks, withdrawing Israeli troops from Lebanon, releasing Lebanese prisoners held in Israel, deploying Lebanese troops along the border, and beginning a reconstruction process.
Israeli officials, meanwhile, framed the dispute through the lens of Hezbollah’s role. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, speaking during Independence Day remarks to Israel’s ambassadors and diplomatic corps, urged Lebanon to work with Israel to disarm Hezbollah. Saar described Lebanon as a “failed state” and said, “The obstacle to peace and normalization between the countries is one: Hezbollah,” adding that Lebanon could have “a future of sovereignty, independence and freedom from the Iranian occupation.”
The current Israel-Hezbollah war has been linked to broader tensions involving Iran. The latest war started after Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel two days after Israel and the U.S. launched attacks on Iran, prompting Israel to respond with widespread bombardment of Lebanon and a ground invasion that captured dozens of towns and villages along the border.
Since the initial ceasefire began, violations have occurred by both sides, and Hezbollah has not joined the diplomacy. Wafiq Safa, described as a high-ranking member of the militant group’s political council, told The Associated Press that Hezbollah would not abide by any agreements made during the direct talks, a position that Lebanon’s officials are likely to factor into how they approach a longer framework.
Lebanon previously relied on indirect channels for Israel negotiations, often brokered by the U.S. or by UNIFIL, the U.N. peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon. The talks that began last week were the first direct contacts between Israel and Lebanon since 1993, and Lebanon’s top authorities pushed for the direct track in part to stop escalation after Hezbollah fired rockets toward Israel in solidarity with Iran.
Even as diplomacy progressed, Lebanon cited incidents from the fighting. An Israeli strike on Wednesday killed Amal Khalil, a journalist covering southern Lebanon; Lebanese health officials said the Israeli military opened fire on an ambulance that responded, preventing rescuers from reaching her, and they said her body was pulled from rubble hours later. The Israeli military denied it deliberately targeted journalists or fired on rescuers, and Lebanon’s Cabinet discussed how to document alleged misconduct, with Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri saying the government was working on a report on alleged war crimes by Israel and that ministers had discussed joining the International Criminal Court.
Mediating a longer ceasefire also comes amid the scale of the war’s human toll. The latest Israel-Hezbollah conflict has killed around 2,300 people in Lebanon, including hundreds of women and children, and displaced more than 1 million people.