Trump Announces 10-Day Israel-Lebanon Ceasefire Starting Thursday at 5 P.M. ET

U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Lebanon agreed to a 10-day ceasefire to begin on Thursday at 5pm ET, framing it as a step toward “PEACE between their Countries.”

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In a Truth Social post, Trump said, “I just had excellent conversations with the Highly Respected President Joseph Aoun, of Lebanon, and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, of Israel. These two Leaders have agreed that in order to achieve PEACE between their Countries, they will formally begin a 10 Day CEASEFIRE at 5 P.M. EST,” and he added that he would invite Aoun and Netanyahu to the White House “for the first meaningful talks between Israel and Lebanon since 1983.”

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Axios reported that the U.S. had been pressing for a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon “for several days,” while working “in parallel on a potential peace deal with Iran.”

The Middle East Monitor described Trump’s announcement as a 10-day ceasefire starting “at 2100 GMT on Thursday,” and it said Trump directed Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine to work with both sides toward “a lasting peace.”

Israel Hayom said the ceasefire would take effect at midnight, Israel time, and it reproduced Trump’s wording about “a 10 Day CEASEFIRE at 5 P.M. EST.”

France 24 reported that Lebanese President Joseph Aoun held a phone call with Donald Trump on Thursday, thanking him for his “efforts” to secure a ceasefire with Israel, according to the presidency in Beirut.

The ceasefire announcement came after a rapid sequence of U.S.-brokered contacts that Axios described as politically and diplomatically sensitive.

Axios said Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted a rare meeting between Israeli and Lebanese diplomats on Tuesday at the State Department, where the ceasefire was discussed but “no decisions were made.”

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It then described how, on Wednesday evening, after the Israeli cabinet meeting ended without a decision, Trump spoke with Netanyahu by phone and asked for a ceasefire, with the White House official saying Netanyahu agreed to a ceasefire “with certain terms.”

Axios added that Rubio called Aoun overnight on Wednesday and got his commitment, and it said Trump later wrote on Truth Social that he was “trying to get a little breathing room between Israel and Lebanon.”

i24NEWS reported a parallel pressure campaign, saying Trump increased pressure on Israel after Lebanese President Joseph Aoun made clear he would not hold direct talks with Netanyahu without “concrete progress in negotiations,” and it quoted Aoun saying, “There is a point to such a phone call between leaders only when there is a significant development on the ground. Without real negotiations taking place, and certainly when there is no ceasefire — I will not have a conversation with Netanyahu at this time.”

Al-Monitor similarly described Aoun’s position, saying he insisted that “a ceasefire precede any negotiations with Israel,” and it quoted Aoun: “The ceasefire requested by Lebanon with Israel is the natural starting point for direct negotiations between the two countries.”

The sources portray Aoun’s stance toward direct talks with Netanyahu as a key friction point that the U.S. tried to navigate while still pushing toward a ceasefire.

“Trump, Rubio speak to Lebanon's president amid push for Aoun-Netanyahu call Lebanese President Joseph Aoun received a phone call from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday amid reports that Aoun is to speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu”

Al-Monitor

i24NEWS said Aoun conveyed to Rubio and other senior American officials that he would not hold direct talks with Netanyahu without tangible steps, and it reported that Aoun declined a call despite Trump writing on Truth Social that a call between the two leaders was expected.

It also said Trump and Aoun later spoke directly, with the U.S. president assuring Aoun that “there will be a ceasefire.”

Al-Monitor reported that Aoun received a phone call from Rubio on Thursday and expressed appreciation for Washington’s efforts, with the Lebanese presidency statement saying Rubio would continue efforts to achieve a ceasefire “as a prelude to establishing peace, security and stability in Lebanon.”

On the Israeli side, Haaretz reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the IDF will remain in a 10-kilometer (6-mile) “expanded buffer zone” in southern Lebanon, and it said Hezbollah responded that this would grant Lebanon and its people “the right to resist.”

In the U.S. political arena, Haaretz added that the U.S. House of Representatives narrowly rejected a war powers resolution that would have blocked Trump from ordering military action against Iran without congressional approval.

Even as the ceasefire agreement was set to take effect, the sources describe continued rocket fire, shelling, and battlefield activity around the implementation window.

Haaretz reported that Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel before the cease-fire, saying “3 wounded, 2 severely,” and it described shrapnel from a Hezbollah rocket barrage severely wounding a 25-year-old man in Carmiel, northern Israel, after “10 rockets were fired from Lebanon,” with the IDF intercepting eight and two hitting open areas.

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Haaretz also said Lebanese state news agency reported that Israeli artillery continued shelling areas in southern Lebanon “an hour after the cease-fire took effect.”

It added that the Lebanese Armed Forces warned citizens to avoid Israeli-occupied areas in southern Lebanon and called on the public to exercise restraint in returning to southern villages and towns until the agreement enters into force.

The IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee issued an urgent warning for civilians to refrain from moving south of the Litani River, and Haaretz quoted the IDF’s statement that troops were maintaining positions to monitor ongoing activity by Hezbollah.

Haaretz also reported that Israeli strikes killed 29 people in Lebanon in the past 24 hours and wounded a further 124, citing the Lebanese Health Ministry.

The reporting also diverges on what was planned and what was actually communicated between leaders, and those differences shape how the ceasefire’s political durability is understood.

“Trump Assures Lebanon's President to Meet Beirut's Ceasefire Request 'As Soon as Possible' U”

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Axios said the Lebanese government was “caught off guard” by Trump’s post and that Lebanese officials said it was unlikely Aoun would agree “at this stage” to speak to Netanyahu, while it described Aoun reportedly telling Rubio that a call with Netanyahu would be premature and asking to speak to Trump directly.

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Ynetnews, by contrast, said Reuters-quoted Lebanese sources reported that “no call between Aoun and Netanyahu is planned in the near future,” and it described an official Lebanese presidency statement that did not mention Netanyahu.

Yeni Safak English said Lebanese sources denied knowledge of a reported presidential call with Israel and quoted Anadolu sources saying, “We do not have any information at this time about a possible call between the Lebanese presidency and the Israeli side.”

The stakes are also spelled out in the ceasefire framework itself as Israel Hayom reproduced a joint statement, including that “Israel and Lebanon will implement a cessation of hostilities beginning on April 16, 2026, at 17:00 EST, for an initial period of ten days,” and that “This initial period may be extended by mutual agreement between Lebanon and Israel if progress is demonstrated in the negotiations.”

Haaretz described the immediate operational posture after the truce, reporting that the IDF expected more rocket fire in the coming hour ahead of the cease-fire taking effect at midnight, and it said the Lebanese Armed Forces urged citizens to “adhere to the military's directives to preserve their safety.”