Donald Trump, President of the United States, has announced that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a 10-day ceasefire, set to begin at midnight.
In a statement posted publicly, Trump said he held discussions with Joseph Aoun, President of Lebanon, and Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, which led to the agreement aimed at reducing tensions between the two countries.
The development comes after a period of escalating conflict in the region. Following Israel’s recent military actions against Iran, which reportedly resulted in the deaths of several Iranian leaders including Ali Khamenei, the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah launched retaliatory attacks on Israel. The exchange of strikes quickly intensified the conflict.
However, in his message announcing the ceasefire, Trump did not directly mention Hezbollah.
“I had very productive discussions with the highly respected President Joseph Aoun of Lebanon and Prime Minister Bibi (Benjamin) Netanyahu of Israel,” Trump said. “Both leaders agreed to a 10-day ceasefire beginning at midnight (Rwanda time) in order to move toward peace between their countries.”
Trump also revealed that on April 14, 2026, representatives from Israel and Lebanon met in Washington, D.C. for the first time in 34 years. The meeting was held with the U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.
The U.S. president added that he had tasked Vice President JD Vance, Secretary Rubio, and U.S. national security official Dan Razin Caine with working closely with both governments to help achieve a lasting peace agreement.
“It is a great honor that I have stopped nine wars around the world. This will be the tenth. Let it happen,” Trump stated.
Netanyahu welcomed the initiative, saying it could open a rare opportunity to negotiate a broader peace agreement with Lebanon. He emphasized that disarming Hezbollah would be among Israel’s key demands in the upcoming negotiations.
He also indicated that Israeli forces would remain deployed in southern Lebanon within a 10-kilometer zone as a security measure to prevent attacks by groups that might violate the ceasefire.
On the other hand, Hezbollah stated that any ceasefire must include a complete halt to Israeli strikes across Lebanese territory.
The agreement was also welcomed by Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, who said his government had repeatedly called for such a move since the fighting began.
According to figures from Lebanon’s Ministry of Health, about 2,200 people have been killed since the conflict started on March 2, 2026.
