US President Donald Trump has announced a 10-day ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon.
The ceasefire agreement will take effect tonight.
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Mr Trump, in a post on Truth Social, disclosed that President Joseph Aoun of Lebanon and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel agreed to a 10-day ceasefire between their counties.
He also wrote that the agreement follows the first direct meeting between the two leaders in 34 years.
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The meeting was held in Washington on Tuesday.
PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that the Israeli army had continued its attacks on Lebanon despite the two-week ceasefire agreement between the US/Israel, and Iran, which took effect last week.
Mr Netanyahu’s office had declared that the ceasefire does not apply to Lebanon. Israel has thus continued its attacks on Southern Lebanon despite Pakistan’s insistence that the ceasefire agreement included Lebanon.
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Mr Trump, in his latest post, wrote that the ceasefire is scheduled to begin at 5 PM EST. That is 10 p.m. West African Time.
“I just had excellent conversations with the Highly Respected President Joseph Aoun of Lebanon and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu of Israel.
“These two Leaders have agreed that, to achieve PEACE between their Countries, they will formally begin a 10 Day CEASEFIRE at 5 P.M. EST.
“On Tuesday, the two Countries met for the first time in 34 years here in Washington, D.C., with our Great Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.
“I have directed Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Rubio, together with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Razin’ Caine, to work with Israel and Lebanon to achieve a lasting peace,” he said.
Mr Trump also took credit for the agreement, stating that the war between Lebanon and Israel would be the 10th war he has ended since resuming office. His previous claims of ending nine wars had been disputed by experts and observers.
He wrote, “It has been my Honor to solve 9 Wars across the World, and this will be my 10th, so let’s GET IT DONE!”
Lebanon’s Prime Minister, Nawaf Salam, welcomed the ceasefire, describing it as a central government demand.
READ ALSO: Trump threatens to scrap UK trade deal over Starmer’s refusal to join Iran war
He noted that the primary goal of the Tuesday meeting in Washington was to end the war, which has led to the death of 2,196 Lebanese people and left around 7,185 others injured.
Reuters reports that a senior Hezbollah lawmaker, Hassan Fadlallah, confirmed that Hezbollah had been briefed on a possible short-term ceasefire to start on Thursday night by Iran’s ambassador to Beirut.
But he noted that the group would only respect the agreement if Israel halts all forms of hostilities.
Mr Netanyahu has yet to comment on the announcement.
Israel has a history of violating ceasefire agreements, and it is unclear whether it will abide by the 10-day truce declared by Mr Trump.
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