Trump: Israel, Lebanon agreed to 10-day ceasefire starting at midnight - Goldie Katz, Amichai Stein

 

by Goldie Katz, Amichai Stein

IDF to maintain positions in southern Lebanon during truce, Israeli official tells 'Post' • Trump invites Netanyahu, Aoun for historic White House talks after separate phone calls

 

An armoured Israeli military vehicle operates inside Israel, near the Israel-Lebanon border, April 15, 2026.

(photo credit: REUTERS/FLORION GOGA)

A 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel will begin at midnight Israel time, US President Donald Trump announced in a Truth Social Post on Thursday.

Trump stated that the ceasefire was reached after separate conversations with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.

He also invited Aoun and Netanyahu to the White House for the first direct talks between the leaders of Lebanon and Israel since 1983.

“Both sides want to see peace, and I believe that will happen, quickly!” Trump said.

US President Donald Trump posts on Truth Social on April 16, 2026. (credit: SCREENSHOT/TRUTH SOCIAL)

During the ceasefire, the IDF will continue to maintain its positions and areas in southern Lebanon where it is currently deployed, an Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post.

Israel’s security cabinet did not vote on the ceasefire during a meeting held shortly before Trump made the announcement.

According to Israeli media reports, cabinet ministers were not informed of the ceasefire during the meeting and only learned of it from the media after the meeting ended.

N12 News quoted Netanyahu as saying that Trump asked for the ceasefire, a request to which Netanyahu acquiesced.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony marking Holocaust Remembrance Day at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, April 14, 2026. (credit: CHAIM GOLDBERG/FLASH90)

Lebanese PM welcomes ceasefire after Lebanon refused direct talks

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam welcomed the ceasefire agreement in a post on X/Twitter, stating that the pause in fighting was Lebanon’s “primary goal in the Washington meeting on Tuesday.” 

أرحّب بإعلان وقف إطلاق النار الذي أعلنه الرئيس ترامب، وهو مطلب لبناني محوري سعينا إليه منذ اليوم الأول للحرب، وكان هدفنا الأول في لقاء واشنطن يوم الثلاثاء. وإذ أهنّئ جميع اللبنانيين بهذا الإنجاز، أترحّم على الشهداء الذين سقطوا، وأؤكّد تضامني مع عائلاتهم، ومع الجرحى، ومع المواطنين…

— Nawaf Salam نواف سلام (@nawafsalam) April 16, 2026

“I congratulate all Lebanese on this achievement,” Salam shared, also thanking regional and international partners who helped achieve the ceasefire.

Earlier on Thursday, Aoun refused to speak directly to Netanyahu about a ceasefire after Trump indicated in an overnight post on Truth Social that the Israeli and Lebanese would be speaking.

Aoun instead held a call with Trump, who spoke to Netanyahu before the ceasefire was eventually announced.

Goldie Katz, Amichai Stein

Source: https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-893291

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