US President Trump has announced that the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon will be extended by three weeks, ahead of its planned expiration over the weekend.
The truce, which was announced for an initial 10-day period last week, was due to run out on Sunday.
Trump also said that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and his Lebanese counterpart, Joseph Aoun, would travel to the White House in the coming days for a meeting.
If such talks take place, they will be the first direct interaction between the two countries’ leaders since the 1990s, but just last week Aoun refused to hold a call with Netanyahu amid continuing Israeli strikes on Hezbollah targets, which Jerusalem said came in response to ceasefire-breaking rocket strikes against northern communities.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, has continued to launch attacks, even as talks between Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors in Washington took place.
The IDF said that “several launches” were made towards Shtula, adding in the early hours that the launcher had since been destroyed.
But, in announcing the extension, Trump insisted that Iran must stop funding Hezbollah to achieve its own peace deal with the US, adding that he is still working to lift the Lebanese law banning contact between Israelis and Lebanese.
The US-Iran ceasefire has been similarly extended, though without any new deadline.
On Thursday, Trump clarified that there was “no timeframe” on ending the war.
But Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, told state TV that Iran has not decided whether to take part in a new round of talks, and accused the US of a “disregard and lack of good faith” in the negotiations.
And Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian, wrote on X: “The Islamic Republic of Iran has welcomed dialogue and agreement and continues to do so. Breach of commitments, blockade and threats are main obstacles to genuine negotiations. World sees your endless hypocritical rhetoric and contradiction between claims and actions.”
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