1 of 3 | Vice President JD Vance (2nd-R) speaks as he joins U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee (L) Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter and President Donald Trump (R) in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. Photo by Will Oliver/UPI | License Photo
April 23 (UPI) — President Donald Trump on Thursday announced that Israeli and Lebanese diplomats agreed to extend their cease-fire by three weeks in talks held at the White House.
The announcement came after the president hosted the countries’ ambassadors for negotiations along with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michael Issa.
“The Meeting went very well!” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“The United States is going to work with Lebanon in order to help it protect itself from Hezbollah. The Ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon will be extended by THREE WEEKS.
“I look forward in the near future to hosting the Prime Minister of Israel, Bibi Netanyahu, and the President of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun. It was a Great Honor to be a participant at this very Historic Meeting!”
During an Oval Office press conference on Thursday evening, Trump announced that Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would both be visit Washington in the next few weeks, though it was unclear if the trips were to occur at the same time.
“They actually like each other, Lebanon and Israel,” Trump said.
U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa thanked Trump and Rubio for arranging the rare meeting between Lebanon and Israel.
“This is 60, 70 years in the making and today is really a historical day,” he said.
“I’m going to keep going, working for a peace that we hope we’ll get it as soon as possible.”
Earlier Thursday, a senior White House official told The New York Times the ambassador-level negotiations originally expected to take place at the State Department. Israeli officials confirmed the meeting with The Times of Israel.
The two countries agreed to a 10-day cease-fire agreement after a first round of talks in Washington, D.C., on April 17, which was the first meeting between Israel and Lebanon in decades. The truce is shaky, though, as Israeli airstrikes have occurred since then, with Hezbollah responding with its own rocket fire.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. speaks during a Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions hearing on the Department of Health and Human Services proposed fiscal year budget for 2027 in the Dirksen Senate Office Building near the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
