Israel-Lebanon Ceasefire: Donald Trump’s Role and Latest Updates

United States President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a 10-day ceasefire, which took effect at 21:00 GMT on 16 April 2026. The ceasefire was described by Trump as a gesture of goodwill intended to enable negotiations toward a permanent security and peace agreement between the two countries.

According to the U.S. State Department, the terms of the agreement specify that Israel retains its right to take all necessary measures in self-defence at any time against planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks and that this right shall not be impeded by the cessation of hostilities. Lebanon must take meaningful steps to prevent Hezbollah and other non-state armed groups from carrying out attacks against Israeli targets.

Both Israel and Lebanon recognized that Lebanon’s security forces have exclusive responsibility for the country’s security. The two countries requested that the United States continue to facilitate direct talks with the objective of resolving all remaining issues.

Trump said he would invite Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House for what he described as the first meaningful talks between Israel and Lebanon since 1983. He added that the next round of negotiations between the U.S. And Iran could take place as soon as the weekend following the announcement.

Iran’s foreign minister stated on Friday that, in line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the Strait of Hormuz had been declared completely open. The waterway is one of the world’s busiest oil shipping channels.

The ceasefire follows six weeks of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon. During this period, Israeli forces have killed at least 2,196 people in Lebanon and displaced more than one million.

On Friday morning, Lebanon’s army reported several ceasefire violations by Israeli forces. Hezbollah has insisted that any agreement must not allow Israeli soldiers to remain within Lebanese territory, while Netanyahu said he agreed to the truce but would not remove troops from southern Lebanon.

Trump characterized the broader conflict with Iran as “going along swimmingly” and expressed optimism that peace talks could resume, though he warned that if negotiations fail, fighting will resume.