Israel And Lebanon Agree 45-Day Ceasefire Extension After Trump Declares April 16

Israel and Lebanon agreed to a 45-day extension of a ceasefire that US President Donald Trump declared on 16 April, the US State Department said on Friday.

State Department spokesman Tommy Piggott said, "The April 16 cessation of hostilities will be extended by 45 days to enable further progress," as the sides planned to reconvene negotiations on 2 June and 3 June.

Al Jazeera

News24 said the talks in Washington were the sides’ third meeting since Israel intensified air attacks on Lebanon after Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel on 2 March.

The ceasefire had been declared on 16 April and, according to News24, hostilities were largely contained to southern Lebanon since then, even as Israel widened its ground invasion into Lebanon’s south last month.

Al Jazeera reported that a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon expires on Sunday, while it said Israel has killed 512 Lebanese since its implementation on April 17.

NBC News said a third round of direct talks between Israel and Lebanon kicked off in Washington Thursday, days before the expiration of a truce that reduced but did not stop fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

NBC News reported that Lebanon’s envoy heading up Thursday’s talks, Simon Karam, was set to lead negotiations, while Deputy National Security Adviser Yossi Draznin was set to attend.

France 24

WION said discussions started just after 9:00 am (1300 GMT) at the State Department, and it cited Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reporting Israeli airstrikes in the south and east, including areas not covered by warning.

WION also said Lebanon’s health ministry reported intense raids killed 22 people, eight of them children, and it added that a Hezbollah drone fell in Israeli territory, leaving several civilians injured.

TRT World said the Israeli military carried out a new wave of attacks on Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon on Thursday, while Hezbollah said it carried out 17 attacks on Israeli troops in the south on Wednesday.

NBC News said Lebanese officials are hoping the two-day negotiations yield a new ceasefire deal and pave the way for tackling issues including the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon and the disarmament of Hezbollah.

“Lebanon, Israel hold fresh talks in Washington as ceasefire nears expiry text_fieldsLebanon and Israel held a new round of peace talks in Washington on Thursday as their current ceasefire agreement approached its scheduled end on Sunday”

Madhyamam

NBC News quoted an Israeli Ambassador to the U.S., Yechiel Leiter, saying Israel aims "to negotiate for full peace as if Hezbollah does not exist — borders, embassies, visas, tourism, everything."

RFI said a Lebanese official told AFP the country would seek "the consolidation of the ceasefire" and that "The first thing is to put an end to the death and destruction."

ynetnews reported that a senior Lebanese official said the Lebanese delegation would seek “a ceasefire that Israel implements,” as Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported 22 people killed in Israeli strikes on Wednesday, including eight children.

TRT World said the U.S.-led mediation is unfolding alongside diplomacy aimed at ending the U.S.-Iran conflict, and it added that Iran has said ending the war in Lebanon is one of its demands for a deal over the wider conflict.