U.S. President Donald Trump said Israel and Lebanon have agreed to increase a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah by three weeks after talks on the White House on Thursday.
Trump said the meeting between the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the US went “thoroughly.” The meeting was the second high-level negotiation between the 2 countries since last week. The initial 10-day ceasefire, which took effect last Friday, had been on account of expire on Monday.
“The USA goes to work with Lebanon with a purpose to help it protect itself from Hezbollah,” Trump said in a social media post. He added that he’s looking forward to meeting in person with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun “within the near future.”
Trump greeted Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad and her Israeli counterpart Yechiel Leiter on their arrival. Along with Trump, the U.S. was represented by Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, State Department Counsellor Michael Needham, Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa.
“We hope that together, under your leadership, we are able to formalize peace between Israel and Lebanon within the very near future,” Leiter said within the Oval Office.
“I need to essentially say thanks to the US, under your leadership, for all of your effort to assist and to support Lebanon,” Hamadeh told Trump. “And I feel together with your help, together with your support, we are able to make Lebanon great.”
Aoun said on Wednesday that Hamadeh would recommend an extension of the 10-day ceasefire. She also would ask for an end to Israeli home demolitions in villages and towns occupied by Israel after the newest war broke out on March 2, Aoun said in comments released by his office.
Preparations are being made for wider-reaching negotiations between Lebanon and Israel. The aim of the longer term talks is to “fully” stop Israeli attacks, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon, release of Lebanese prisoners held in Israel, deployment of Lebanese troops along the border and starting the reconstruction process, Aoun said.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has called on Lebanon to work with Israel to disarm the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah.
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“We don’t have any serious disagreements with Lebanon. There are a number of minor border disputes that may be solved,” Saar said during Independence Day remarks to Israel’s ambassadors and diplomatic corps wherein he also described the neighboring country as a “failed state.”
“The obstacle to peace and normalization between the countries is one: Hezbollah,” he said, adding that Lebanon could have “a way forward for sovereignty, independence and freedom from the Iranian occupation.”
The newest war began when Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel, two days after Israel and the U.S. launched attacks on Iran. Israel responded with widespread bombardment of Lebanon and a ground invasion wherein it captured dozens of towns and villages along the border.
Israel’s military currently occupies a buffer zone stretching as much as 10 kilometers (6 miles) into southern Lebanon. Israel says it goals to remove the specter of short-range rockets and anti-tank missiles being fired toward northern Israel.
Hezbollah has rejected the talks. Wafiq Safa, a high-ranking member of the militant group’s political council, told The Associated Press that it can not abide by any agreements made throughout the direct talks.
Despite this, the talks are a significant step for 2 countries with no diplomatic relations that officially have been at war since Israel’s inception in 1948.
The Lebanese government hopes the talks will pave the approach to a everlasting end to the war. While Iran has set ending the wars in Lebanon and the region as a condition for talks with the U.S., Lebanon insists on representing itself.
For the reason that ceasefire went into effect last week, there have been multiple violations by each side sides.
On Wednesday, Amal Khalil, a well known Lebanese journalist covering southern Lebanon, was killed by an Israeli strike. Lebanese health officials said the Israeli military opened fire on an ambulance that responded to the scene, stopping rescuers from reaching her. Her body was pulled from the rubble of a collapsed constructing several hours later.
The Israeli military denied that it had deliberately targeted journalists or fired on rescuers, however the case sparked widespread anger in Lebanon ahead of the Washington talks.
After a Cabinet meeting Thursday, Lebanon’s Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri said the federal government is working on a report documenting alleged war crimes by Israel and that ministers had discussed joining the International Criminal Court.
The newest Israel-Hezbollah war has killed around 2,300 people in Lebanon, including a whole bunch of ladies and youngsters, and displaced over 1 million people.
Last week’s talks were the primary between Israel and Lebanon since 1993. Each countries have relied on indirect communication, often brokered by the U.S. or UNIFIL, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon.
Lebanon’s top political authorities, critical of Hezbollah’s decision to fireplace rockets toward Israel on March 2 in solidarity with Iran, quickly proposed direct talks in a bid to stop the escalation, hoping Israel wouldn’t launch its ground invasion.
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