President Donald Trump said Israel and Lebanon had agreed to extend their ceasefire by three weeks after their ambassadors held talks at the White House. The extension lengthened an initial 10-day pause that had been due to expire the following Monday.
Trump described the meeting between Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad as productive. It was their second meeting in a week and part of the first direct diplomatic discussions between Israel and Lebanon in decades. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the US ambassadors to both countries were also present for an Oval Office appearance.
The agreement paused fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, but the armed Lebanese group did not participate in the diplomacy. A senior Hezbollah political official had told the Associated Press that the group would not comply with arrangements reached through the direct talks. Multiple violations by both sides had already been reported since the initial ceasefire began the previous Friday.
Trump said the United States would work with Lebanon to help it protect itself from Hezbollah. He also said he expected to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in Washington within weeks. During the Oval Office event, Trump maintained that Israel could respond if it came under fire.
The Lebanese government viewed the talks as a possible route toward a permanent end to the war. Aoun had outlined objectives for broader negotiations: stopping Israeli attacks, securing an Israeli troop withdrawal, obtaining the release of Lebanese prisoners, deploying Lebanon's army along the border and starting reconstruction. Israel's foreign minister, Gideon Saar, framed Hezbollah's disarmament as the principal obstacle to peace and normalization.
The latest conflict began after Hezbollah launched rockets into northern Israel, two days after Israel and the United States began attacks on Iran. Israel answered with extensive bombardment and a ground invasion in Lebanon, taking towns and villages near the border and establishing a buffer zone that reached as far as six miles into Lebanese territory.
The diplomatic opening unfolded amid continuing human costs. An Israeli strike the day before the talks killed Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil. Lebanese officials accused Israeli forces of obstructing rescuers, while Israel denied deliberately targeting journalists or firing on emergency personnel. The dispute intensified anger in Lebanon as its representatives entered negotiations.
The extension created additional time for diplomacy but did not settle the ceasefire's enforcement, Hezbollah's role or the territorial and security questions separating Israel and Lebanon. The initial pause had begun only days earlier, making the additional three weeks an opportunity to test whether direct contacts could restrain violations and support the more ambitious negotiations both governments were preparing.
