WASHINGTON/BEIRUT/JERUSALEM – The ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel was extended for three weeks after a high-level meeting at the White House, US President Donald Trump said on April 23.
Mr Trump hosted Israel’s ambassador to Washington Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese ambassador to the US Nada Moawad in the Oval Office for a second round of US-facilitated talks, a day after Israeli strikes killed at least five people including a journalist.
“The Meeting went very well! The United States is going to work with Lebanon in order to help it protect itself from Hezbollah,” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Mr Trump added that he looked forward to hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in the near future.
The ceasefire, reached after talks between the two nations’ ambassadors to Washington last week and set to expire on April 26, has yielded a significant reduction in violence. Attacks have continued in southern Lebanon, however, where Israeli troops have seized a self-declared buffer zone.
Iran-backed Hezbollah says it has “the right to resist” occupying forces. Vice-President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa also attended the meeting. REUTERS
