President Donald Trump said Thursday that the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon would be extended by three weeks following a meeting at the White House. He also said the US would work with both countries to deal with Hezbollah.
The extension was announced in a post on Truth Social. The ceasefire was scheduled to end on Sunday. President Trump wrote the meeting “went very well” and added that the United States would cooperate with Lebanon “to help it protect itself from Hezbollah.”
The president said he hosted “High Ranking Representatives of Israel and Lebanon in the Oval Office” alongside Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and US ambassadors Mike Huckabee and Michel Issa.
He added that Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are expected to visit the White House “in the coming weeks.”
“They do have Hezbollah to think about,” PresidentTrump said. “We are going to be working with Lebanon to get things straightened out in that country. I think it will be a wonderful thing to get this worked out simultaneously with what we are doing in Iran.”
The conflict between Israel and Lebanon resumed after Hezbollah struck Israel, describing the attack as retaliation for the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on February 28.
Following the meeting, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee posted on social media that tensions between the countries are driven by Hezbollah. “The people of Lebanon and the people of Israel are neighbors, and they want to get along – and they can get along… The problem is not Lebanon; the problem is not Israel. The problem is Hezbollah.”
President Trump also said he is prepared to wait for “the best deal” in efforts to end the conflict with Iran.
