Trump: Israel and Lebanon Leaders to Speak After 34 Years
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the heads of Israel and Lebanon are expected to hold direct talks on Thursday, a development that comes as discussions over a possible ceasefire continue.
“Trying to get a little breathing room between Israel and Lebanon. It has been a long time since the two leaders have spoken, like 34 years. It will happen tomorrow. Nice!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
His comments followed a report published Wednesday night by the Financial Times indicating that a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon could be announced in the near future.
According to the report, two Lebanese officials familiar with the situation said a truce between Israel and the Hezbollah terrorist organization might take effect “this week”, likely after Israeli forces complete their capture of the strategic town of Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon.
At the same time, Israel’s Security Cabinet convened Wednesday night and continued meeting into the early hours of Thursday. The session lasted roughly four hours and ended without a decision regarding a ceasefire.
Following the meeting, an Israeli official said, “at this stage, we are not approaching a ceasefire.”
Earlier in the day, the Lebanese newspaper An-Nahar reported that indirect negotiations between Israel and Lebanon, conducted with U.S. involvement, have produced agreement on a preliminary framework. While short of a formal ceasefire, the arrangement is intended to serve as a stepping stone toward broader talks focused on disarming Hezbollah and potentially moving toward a peace agreement.
The framework, according to the report, aims to correct weaknesses in the November 2024 ceasefire arrangement, which did not succeed in stripping Hezbollah of its weapons and failed to significantly reduce the toll of ongoing Israeli military operations on Lebanese civilians.
{Matzav.com}