A 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon came into effect on Thursday evening after US President Donald Trump announced that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun had agreed to the truce, which began at 17:00 US Eastern time (21:00 GMT). Trump, who said he had held "excellent" phone calls with both leaders, framed the pause in fighting as a stepping stone toward a broader peace agreement, adding that he would invite Netanyahu and Aoun to the White House for what he described as the "first meaningful talks between Israel and Lebanon since 1983" — a reference to the period of the Lebanese Civil War.

The announcement came after roughly six weeks of Israeli military operations in Lebanon, launched in response to attacks by Hezbollah, the Iran-backed armed movement and political party that has a powerful presence in the country's south. Israeli strikes have killed more than 2,100 people in Lebanon, according to Lebanese authorities, displaced over a million — approximately one fifth of the population — and destroyed or damaged an estimated 37,000 homes. Israel says Hezbollah attacks have killed two civilians on its soil and that 13 Israeli soldiers have died in Lebanon since fighting began. Israeli ground forces have occupied parts of southern Lebanon and, just hours before the ceasefire, struck the last bridge over the Litani River into the south, fully severing the region from the rest of the country.

The terms of the ceasefire, as outlined by the US State Department in a text it said was agreed by both parties, state that the Lebanese government will take steps to prevent Hezbollah and other non-state armed groups from conducting attacks against Israeli targets. The statement also affirms that Lebanon's security forces hold exclusive responsibility for the country's defence — a pointed assertion that no other group, meaning Hezbollah, holds that role. Israel retains the right to act in self-defence against "planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks," and the truce may be extended by mutual agreement if negotiations progress. Netanyahu confirmed Israel's participation but made clear that Israeli troops would remain in a 10-kilometre-deep "security zone" in southern Lebanon, rejecting Hezbollah's demands for a full withdrawal. Hezbollah, for its part, said it would observe the truce only if Israel did not move freely within Lebanese territory.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam welcomed the ceasefire, calling it "a central Lebanese demand we have pursued since the very first day of the war." European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described it as "a relief." The truce announcement is also linked to broader regional diplomacy: Iran, Hezbollah's main backer, had insisted that a ceasefire in Lebanon be part of any wider agreement ending weeks of US-Israeli military pressure on Tehran, and Pakistan — acting as a mediator — had stressed that peace in Lebanon was vital to resolving that broader conflict.

The ceasefire leaves the most contentious issues unresolved. Netanyahu stated that disarming Hezbollah would be Israel's core demand in any further negotiations, while Lebanese officials have long argued that the group cannot be disarmed by force and that any such process would require direct negotiation. A previous ceasefire that ended 13 months of conflict between the two sides was marred by near-daily cross-border incidents. Trump said he expected Netanyahu and Aoun to travel to Washington "over the next week or two," expressing confidence that a lasting peace deal could be achieved "quickly" — though the gap between Israeli and Lebanese positions remains wide.