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US President Donald Trump on Thursday (local time) said that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend their ceasefire by an additional three weeks, following talks with senior officials from both sides.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said, "We had a great meeting with the very high officials of Lebanon and the very high officials of Israel, and I think that the president of Lebanon and the prime minister of Israel, over the next couple of weeks, will be coming here." "They've agreed to an additional three weeks of, I guess, no firing -- ceasefire -- no more firing. Let's see. We hope that happens. It's not going to happen between them, but we still have Hezbollah to think about," he said. Earlier, in a post on Truth Social, Trump announced that the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon would be extended by three weeks, adding that the United States would work with Lebanon to help it protect itself from Hezbollah. "The President of the United States, DONALD J. TRUMP, Vice President of the United States, JD Vance, Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, and Ambassador to Lebanon, Michel Issa, met today with High Ranking Representatives of Israel and Lebanon in the Oval Office. The Meeting went very well! The United States is going to work with Lebanon in order to help it protect itself from Hezbollah. The Ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon will be extended by THREE WEEKS. I look forward in the near future to hosting the Prime Minister of Israel, Bibi Netanyahu, and the President of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun. It was a Great Honor to be a participant at this very Historic Meeting!," the post read. Further, US Vice President JD Vance described the extension of the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire by three weeks as a significant and historic step, crediting President Donald Trump's direct involvement for making the agreement possible. "I think this is a major, historic moment. We're going to extend the ceasefire for three weeks; that's already in place between Israel and Lebanon. Of course, it would not have happened without the President's direct engagement," he said. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that President Trump's direct involvement helped secure the extension of the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, adding that the move provides more time to work towards a lasting peace between the two countries. "The president wanted to be personally involved and glad he was, because it made it possible to get this extension, and it gives everybody time to continue to work on what's going to be permanent peace between two countries that want to be in peace," Rubio said in the Oval Office. "I'm very optimistic that in a few weeks, we'll be closer to the kind of permanent peace that the people of Israel and Lebanon deserve," he further added. (ANI)
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