US brokers extension of Israel-Lebanon ceasefire after Washington talks

U.S. President Donald Trump said that a second round of ambassador-level talks between Israel and Lebanon, held in Washington, was successful and resulted in an agreement to extend the ceasefire between the two sides.

The meeting took place in the Oval Office of the White House and brought together senior representatives from Israel and Lebanon, alongside top U.S. officials. According to Trump, the discussions focused on security and regional stability, particularly in relation to Hezbollah.

In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump described the outcome of the talks and confirmed Washington’s continued engagement in the process.

"The President of the United States, DONALD J. TRUMP, Vice President of the United States, JD Vance, Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, and Ambassador to Lebanon, Michel Issa, met today with High Ranking Representatives of Israel and Lebanon in the Oval Office. The Meeting went very well! The United States is going to work with Lebanon in order to help it protect itself from Hezbollah. The Ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon will be extended by THREE WEEKS. I look forward in the near future to hosting the Prime Minister of Israel, Bibi Netanyahu, and the President of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun. It was a Great Honor to be a participant at this very Historic Meeting!" the post on Truth Social reads.

The talks took place against a backdrop of ongoing tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border. On Thursday evening local time, as the discussions in Washington were about to begin, Hezbollah said it had fired rockets at northern Israel in response to what it described as an Israeli “violation of the ceasefire.” The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it intercepted the launches.

A day earlier, Lebanon accused Israel of committing war crimes after Israeli air strikes killed one journalist and wounded another in southern Lebanon. The IDF denied the allegation, stating that it did not target journalists.

Ahead of the meeting, Israel said it had no “serious disagreements” with Lebanon and called for cooperation to address the threat posed by Hezbollah.

The diplomatic engagement follows a previous round of talks in Washington last week, which marked the first direct, high-level contact between Lebanese and Israeli representatives in three decades.

Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire in November 2024, ending a previous round of conflict. Since then, Israel has carried out near-daily strikes on targets and individuals it says are linked to Hezbollah.

Regional tensions escalated further after the United States and Israel carried out strikes on Iran on February 28, killing Iran’s supreme leader. In response, Hezbollah launched rockets and drones into Israel on March 2.

By Tamilla Hasanova