Trump Announces Israel–Lebanon Ceasefire | WPN World People News

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on the 16th that Israel and Lebanon will implement a 10-day ceasefire starting at 5:00 a.m. Taiwan time on the 17th. He also said that within the next one to two weeks, representatives from both sides will meet at the White House. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the move and urged all parties to respect the ceasefire agreement.

Trump stated that representatives from Israel and Lebanon held talks at the White House on Tuesday. As the two countries do not have formal diplomatic relations, this meeting marked their first face-to-face contact since 1983. The talks were coordinated by Vice President James David Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine. The goal is to promote a long-term, stable peace agreement and ease tensions. Trump added that both sides have shown willingness to pursue peace and expressed optimism about the prospects for negotiations.

However, neither Israel nor Lebanon has officially confirmed the ceasefire arrangement so far. Shortly before the ceasefire was set to take effect, Hezbollah in Lebanon again engaged in cross-border clashes with Israel. Hours after the ceasefire began, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israel’s military operations against Hezbollah were not over. Meanwhile, Hezbollah declared on the 17th that its fighters remain ready to fight at any time and warned Israel not to violate the ceasefire agreement.

Although the ceasefire includes a commitment by the Lebanese government to prevent Hezbollah from attacking Israel and prohibits Israel from conducting offensive military actions in Lebanon, Lebanese authorities have limited control over Hezbollah, casting doubt on the future of the ceasefire agreement.