President Donald Trump announced Thursday that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a 10-day ceasefire after weeks of fighting along their shared border.
This is aimed at allowing for diplomatic discussion between the two nations. The truce is expected to start at 5 p.m. Eastern Time when Israel will temporarily halt its military offensive against Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah.
In posts on Truth Social, Trump said he “had excellent conversations with the Highly Respected President Joseph Aoun, of Lebanon, and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, of Israel” and that “These two Leaders have agreed that in order to achieve PEACE between their Countries, they will formally begin a 10 Day CEASEFIRE at 5 P.M. EST.”
In another post, Trump announced he would invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun to the White House to continue peace negotiations.
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The announcement follows some of the heaviest fighting on the Israel-Lebanon border since the war started in February after the U.S. and Israel launched a bombing campaign against the Iranian regime. Israeli strikes pummeled Hezbollah positions in Lebanon and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have pushed into Lebanese territory.
Over 2,000 people have been killed and 7,000 wounded in the fighting since early March. Hezbollah has fired rockets and drones into northern Israel, keeping border towns in constant peril.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">10-day ceasefire agreed: Israel–Lebanon, starts 21:00 GMT Thursday. Trump says he spoke with Netanyahu and Aoun. Al Jazeera’s Obaida Hitto reporting from Tyre.</p>— Olarewaju Tosin (@tosin_olarewaju) <a href="https://twitter.com/tosin_olarewaju/status/2044833042909262031?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Israel’s conflict with Hezbollah dates back to Israel’s invasion of Lebanon back in 1982. The terrorist group was spawned from Shia militias formed to resist the Israeli occupation as Lebanon dealt with a bloody civil war.
Over the next two decades, Hezbollah has engaged in a guerilla war against Israel and its allies. Its operatives have targeted U.S. targets and killed American citizens and service members.
Israel and Hezbollah have fought various wars since 1982. Tensions exploded into a full-scale 34-day war in 2006 after the terrorist group conducted a raid against Israel. The IDF responded with a massive air and ground campaign that killed over 1,100 people in Lebanon and 150 Israelis.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🇱🇧🇮🇱 Israel-Lebanon Ceasefire<br><br>Trump announced a 10-day ceasefire starting midnight Apr 16; White House invites both leaders for follow-up talks to formalize and extend.<br><br>Markets:<br>• Israel x Hezbollah ceasefire by Apr 30?<br>• Lebanon recognizes Israel by Jun 30?</p>— FlashEdge (@flashedge_io) <a href="https://twitter.com/flashedge_io/status/2044835005214720477?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Since then, there have been other flare-ups of violence in the region. Hezbollah has expanded its arsenal of rockets and drones with Iran’s help. The more recent conflict began after Hamas carried out a brutal assault on Israel on October 7, 2023. Hezbollah later joined the war that followed, attacking Israeli targets close to the border.
The 10-day truce comes as Washington and its partners seek a diplomatic resolution to the war in Iran. President Trump has repeatedly threatened to escalate airstrikes on the regime. Last week, Trump gave a two-week extension on his deadline to allow for discussions that could lead to the war’s end.