Lebanon is experiencing its deepest internal divisions since the end of its civil war in 1990, as President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam openly break with Hezbollah over the direction of the country's future. The government has declared Hezbollah's military activities illegal, aligned Lebanon with US policy, and sent its ambassador to Washington for direct preliminary talks with an Israeli counterpart on 14 April — a move Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem condemned as "humiliation." A fragile ten-day ceasefire brokered by the United States on 16 April has done little to ease the tension; both sides are claiming credit for the truce while trading accusations, and the two visions of Lebanon — one pursuing state sovereignty and potential peace with Israel, the other anchored in armed resistance — appear increasingly irreconcilable.