Israel and Lebanon agree to 10-day ceasefire, Trump says

US president Donald Trump said on Thursday he had spoken with Joseph Aoun and Benjamin Netanyahu, as he announced a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said both leaders had agreed to begin the ceasefire at 21:00 GMT (23:00 Belgian time) “in order to achieve peace between their countries”.

He added that talks between the two sides had taken place earlier this week in Washington for the first time in 34 years, alongside US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Trump said he had instructed vice-president JD Vance, Rubio and senior military officials to work with both countries towards a “lasting peace”.

However, the US president made no mention of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed armed group that has been involved in ongoing cross-border fighting with Israel and is not part of the formal talks.

Israeli forces have carried out strikes in Lebanon in recent weeks targeting Hezbollah positions. The violence has displaced more than one million people, according to reports.

In a separate post, Trump said he will invite Aoun and Netanyahu to the White House for further talks. Concrete information about the invitation remains unknown.

^{© Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP}