Israel-Lebanon ceasefire extended by three weeks, Trump says
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President Trump meets with U.S., Israeli and Lebanese officials in the Oval Office on April 23. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images
The ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon will be extended by another three weeks, President Trump said after hosting the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors in the Oval Office on Thursday.
Why it matters: The U.S. wants to extend the Lebanon ceasefire for two reasons: to advance direct Israel-Lebanon peace talks and to prevent renewed fighting from undermining the effort to reach a deal with Iran.
Driving the news: Trump announced the initial 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon last week.
- The U.S. has been pressing for an extended ceasefire while working in parallel on a potential peace deal with Iran.
- While the two tracks are officially separate, Iran claims ongoing Israeli attacks in Lebanon constitute a violation of its truce with the U.S.
- The U.S. and Israel argue the U.S.-Iran ceasefire does not cover Israel's operations against Iran-backed Hezbollah, which they say are taking place in the context of separate peace talks with the Lebanese government.
Behind the scenes: The Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors were scheduled to meet on Thursday with Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the State Department for the second round of talks between the warring neighbors.
- U.S. and Lebanese officials said ahead of the meeting that it would focus on extending the ceasefire.
- Three hours before it was set to begin, the meeting was moved to the White House and both parties were told Trump would join, U.S. officials said.
- In addition to Trump and Rubio, Vice President Vance, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa attended.
What they're saying: "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," Trump wrote on Truth Social after the meeting.
- Trump said he looks forward to hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the White House "in the near future."
- Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump later said he hopes the meeting with Netanyahu and Aoun could take place during the three weeks of the extended ceasefire.
Yes, but: Lebanese officials say a trilateral meeting is unlikely as long as Israel is occupying 6% of Lebanon's territory and continuing to conduct strikes there despite the ceasefire.
- Trump was asked by reporters after the meeting whether he was concerned by the Lebanese law barring any contacts with Israel. Trump looked surprised and said "we have to end that."
- He then asked Rubio and the other officials in the room to work on cancelling this law. Doing so would be politically challenging inside Lebanon.
State of play: Shortly before Trump started his meeting with the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors, Hezbollah fired several rockets at Israeli villages along the border. The IDF then conducted airstrikes targeting the launchers.
- Trump told reporters that Israel will have to defend itself if attacked during the ceasefire, but stressed it must do so "carefully" and in a "surgical" way.
