Trump says ceasefire between Israel-Lebanon to be extended by three weeks

United States President Donald Trump on Thursday said that the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon will be extended by three weeks after fresh discussions between officials of the two countries in Washington.

An earlier agreement for a 10-day ceasefire that had been struck on April 17 was set to expire on Sunday. The ceasefire aims to end more than seven weeks of fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah amid the war in West Asia.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, the US president said that the two countries have “agreed to an additional three weeks of, I guess, no firing – ceasefire – no more firing…We hope that happens. It is not going to happen between them, but we still have Hezbollah to think about.”

Trump added that Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the White House in the coming weeks. “They do have Hezbollah to think about,” he said. “We are going to be working with Lebanon to get things straightened out in that country.”

He added: “I think it will be a wonderful thing to get this worked out simultaneously with what we are doing in Iran.”

During the interaction, Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad and Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter praised Trump for his role in the talks, the BBC reported. The two ambassadors added that Beirut and Tel Aviv were united in their aim to rid Lebanon of “this malign influence called Hezbollah”.

The extension to the ceasefire comes amid both Hezbollah and Israel accusing each other of violating the earlier agreement.

On Thursday, Hezbollah said that it had fired rockets at northern Israel in response to a “violation of the ceasefire”, the BBC reported. In response, the Israel Defense Forces said that it had intercepted the attack.

A day earlier, Lebanon claimed Israel had committed war crimes after Israeli air strikes killed one journalist and wounded another in southern Lebanon. However, Israel denied targeting journalists.

Trump also told reporters on Thursday ​that he would not use a nuclear weapon in ‌the war against Iran.

“Why would I use a nuclear weapon?” Reuters quoted him as asking when a reporter questioned him on whether he ⁠would use such a weapon. “We’ve totally, in a very conventional way, decimated ​them without it…No, I wouldn’t ​use it. A nuclear weapon should never be allowed ​to be used by anybody.”

The benchmark Brent crude increased 1.7% on Friday to trade at $106 per barrel. The price was $78 per barrel on February 27, a day before the conflict started.

Major Asian stock indices on Wednesday had mixed responses to the developments. In India, the benchmark Sensex index had fallen 1.5% as of 1.40 pm. South Korea’s Kospi was down 0.002% and China’s Shanghai Composite 0.3%. However, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng had risen 0.2% and Japan’s Nikkei nearly 1%.

The war

The US and Israel launched an attack on Iran on February 28, claiming that Tehran’s action posed an existential threat to Israel. Washington acts as a guarantor of Israel’s security. Iran retaliated by striking Israel and US military bases in the region and targeting major cities in Gulf countries.

Israel has been claiming that Iran is close to obtaining a nuclear weapon, which could alter the regional security balance. Tehran has long maintained that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.

After Washington and Tel Aviv attacked Iran on February 28 and killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Hezbollah launched an attack on Israel in retaliation on March 2.

Israel struck Lebanon in response to the attacks on March 2. The Israeli military also re-entered southern Lebanon in March and have occupied 10 km of Lebanese territory, BBC reported.

Since the latest war began, at least 2,294 persons have been killed in Israeli attacks in Lebanon, BBC reported, citing data from the Lebanese health ministry. On the other hand, Hezbollah attacks have killed two civilians in Israel since then.

Additionally, 15 Israeli soldiers have been killed in combat in Lebanon, BBC quoted Israeli officials as saying.

Data from the United Nations also show that more than one million persons have been displaced in the latest conflict across Lebanon. The majority of those displaced are from the south of the country, where Israel has destroyed homes and villages.