Trump Announces Israel And Lebanon Agreed To Extend Israel-Hezbollah Ceasefire Three Weeks

President Trump announced Friday that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend their ceasefire by three weeks after talks at the White House, a step meant to pause cross-border fighting and ease regional tensions.

Trump said a White House meeting with the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors "went very well." The initial 10-day ceasefire took effect on April 16 and was due to expire Monday before the new three-week extension. He said the United States will work with Lebanon to help it protect itself from Hezbollah and that he plans to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Michel Aoun. President Aoun set out aims for wider talks that include a full stop to Israeli attacks, withdrawal from a 10-kilometer-deep buffer zone, prisoner releases, and reconstruction. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar publicly called Lebanon a "failed state" and said Hezbollah is the main obstacle to peace and normalization. Israel has pushed forces up to 10 kilometers into southern Lebanon to create a buffer against Hezbollah rockets and anti-tank missiles.

The episode traces back to a November 2024 ceasefire that briefly ended Israel's ground invasion of southern Lebanon but quickly unraveled amid mutual violations. Tensions spiked after U.S.-Israeli strikes in late February 2026 killed Iran's supreme leader and Hezbollah resumed cross-border rocket fire in early March. Israel launched a ground operation in early March that expanded to the Litani River and set up a deep buffer zone while airstrikes and rocket exchanges continued. A 10-day ceasefire began on April 16 after talks, but it produced only a limited pause before the extension announced this week.

Initial reports highlighted the White House deal as a diplomatic win and raised hopes for broader talks. But later coverage from NPR and CBS noted repeated violations, including Israeli airstrikes after the extension and public rejection of the deal by prominent Hezbollah lawmakers. PBS footage showed the White House meeting "went very well," even as violence on the ground kept testing the pause. The shift underlines how the ceasefire's appearance on paper has not yet stopped deadly strikes or political pushback in Beirut and Tel Aviv.

The Lebanese government now places the conflict toll at nearly 2,300 dead and about 1.2 million displaced. U.S.-Iran tensions complicate the picture, with naval seizures and threats around the Strait of Hormuz raising the risk of wider confrontation. Social media debates reflected the split view that the U.S. either brokered a rare regional pause or moved without full local buy-in. For now, the three-week extension buys time for talks but faces immediate tests from strikes, rejections, and a volatile regional standoff.