President Donald Trump said Thursday that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a 10-day ceasefire, stepping in as the violence continues to surge.
Ceasefire announced as strikes continue
Trump made the announcement in a post on his Truth Social account, saying the two countries would “formally begin a 10 Day CEASEFIRE.” He added that it would begin Thursday at 5 p.m.
ET.
The timing matters, too—right now, everyone is watching the hour where the fighting either eases, or it doesn’t.
In the background, you could almost hear the political gears shifting in Washington the moment the post hit.
The ceasefire comes after more than a week of an escalated Israeli bombing campaign in Lebanon.
Misryoum newsroom reported that the fighting has been accompanied by thousands of deaths, according to reporting from Lebanese health officials and Israeli and Lebanese statements that have been at odds about the scope and purpose of the strikes.
Washington talks and disputes over a prior ceasefire
Trump said Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in Washington with Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday to discuss the ongoing Israeli strikes.
That meeting, on paper, sets the stage for the new pause—though “pause” is doing a lot of work here, because the dispute over ceasefires has been tangled from the start.
The new announcement arrived shortly after Trump said the U.S.
and Iran had agreed to a two-week ceasefire.
Misryoum editorial desk noted that the arrangement has been under strain, particularly over whether Lebanon was included.
Iran and Pakistani mediators both say Lebanon was part of the ceasefire, while the U.S.
and Israel disagreed.
As the arguments played out, the violence has inflicted a heavy toll.
Misryoum newsroom reported that Lebanese health officials said the attacks have killed more than 2,100 people.
Israel has said it is targeting the Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah, but Lebanon said the attacks have killed nearly 200 children, according to The Associated Press.
The Israeli Defense Forces told the AP that it obeys the law when planning and initiating its attacks.
In the cycle of retaliation, Hezbollah announced counterattacks in Israel after the latest wave of strikes, and Misryoum editorial team stated that Israeli officials said those strikes have killed at least a dozen IDF soldiers and two civilians.
It’s a grim back-and-forth—hard to tell where any ceasefire line is truly holding when each side is already pointing to the other’s next move.
Still, the order of events is now set: a 10-day ceasefire starting Thursday at 5 p.m.
ET, following high-level talks in Washington and amid an unresolved earlier ceasefire dispute.
The question, for now, is whether this one actually lands and lasts—because everyone involved has already shown they’re willing to argue about what counts, and what doesn’t, almost immediately.
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