Washington, Apr 23 (EFE).- The United States President announced on Thursday that Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend their ceasefire for three more weeks. The announcement came after a meeting with representatives of both countries at the White House.
Trump announced the extension of the truce, which was originally declared on Apr. 16, following a meeting with the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the United States, Yechiel Leiter and Nada Hamadeh, to advance negotiations.
«The Meeting went very well! 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,» the US leader announced on the Truth Social network.
The Republican added that he hopes to welcome Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to the White House soon.
Later, during a press conference in the Oval Office, Trump was questioned about a possible lasting peace agreement between the two countries, to which he simply replied that there is a great possibility.
«Israel is going to have to defend itself (…) but they’re going to do it carefully, and they’ll be surgical,» the Republican added.
During the round of questions, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Trump’s mediation made this ceasefire extension possible and expressed optimism about the prospects for achieving lasting peace.
Thursday’s meeting marks the second round of contacts between Israel and Lebanon, following the one held on April 14 at the Department of State headquarters in Washington. That initial meeting was the first high-level encounter between the two nations since 1993 and concluded with a ten-day ceasefire agreement.
Following the start of the war against Iran, launched by the United States and Israel on Feb. 28, the Israeli Army began an offensive in Lebanese territory against Hezbollah on Mar. 2, which has caused more than 2,300 deaths and a million displaced people.
Hezbollah, an ally of Iran and responsible for the attacks launched from Lebanon on Israel, is not participating in the peace talks.
The Lebanese government has rejected Iran negotiating on its behalf in the talks it holds with the US in Pakistan and has instead opted to maintain these direct negotiations with Israel, which Hezbollah opposes. EFE
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