US President Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to begin a 10-day ceasefire at 5 p.m. EST (2100 GMT), signaling a pause in Israel’s conflict with Iran-backed Hezbollah, which is running parallel to the war with Iran.A US official said the ceasefire would begin on Thursday. Israel’s campaign in Lebanon has emerged as a major obstacle to achieving the peace deal that Trump sought to end the war Israel launched with Iran in late February. US and Iranian officials are considering a second round of in-person talks in Islamabad in the coming days and an end to the fighting in Lebanon could pave the way for an agreement on other thorny issues, including Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry had earlier said that peace in Lebanon was necessary for the talks it was brokering.Trump said he had excellent conversations with both Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu said in a video statement that he had agreed to a 10-day pause and an opportunity to reach a historic agreement with Lebanon. But there was uncertainty over whether a ceasefire would be reached between archenemies Israel and Hezbollah.Netanyahu said in his video message that he did not agree with Hezbollah’s demand to withdraw forces deployed in southern Lebanon to the international border between the two countries and would maintain a broad “security zone” up to the border with Syria. He said, Israel’s main demand was that Hezbollah should be destroyed.In its first comments after Trump’s announcement, Hezbollah said any ceasefire should not give Israel freedom of movement within Lebanon. In a statement issued by its media office, the group said the presence of Israeli troops on Lebanese territory gave Lebanon and its people “the right to protest”.Trump said he has directed US Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Kaine to work with the two countries to achieve lasting peace. “Both sides want to see peace, and I believe it will happen soon!” he said in a post on Truth Social. He also said that the leaders of both the countries can meet at the White House. Trump said, “It’s very exciting. I think we’re going to have an agreement where we’re going to have a meeting for the first time in 44 years, and Lebanon will have a meeting with Israel, and they’re probably going to do it in the next week or two at the White House.”This is a Reuters story