According to Donald Trump, Israel and Lebanon are on a path to “Lasting PEACE.” That is how the president described a 10-day ceasefire he announced in a Truth Social post on Thursday. In another post, he wrote, “Both sides want to see PEACE, and I believe that will happen, quickly!”
Trump’s optimism is due largely to this week’s direct meetings between representatives from Israel and Lebanon hosted by the State Department. The final communiqué for those talks expressed America’s hope that the meeting would be the first step toward a “comprehensive peace deal.”
All of that sounds like welcome news. The problem is that Israel is not currently at war with Lebanon; rather it’s fighting a war in Lebanon against Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy militia that has for more than 20 years been the most powerful armed faction inside of Lebanon. Hezbollah began firing rockets and missiles at Israel on March 1, two days after the U.S.-Israel war commenced against Iran.
It’s unclear whether Hezbollah, the terror group that operates mostly but not exclusively in Lebanon, will abide by the ceasefire. Trump has said it will. But a statement from the group did not say whether it recognized the agreement. “A ceasefire must include a comprehensive halt to attacks across all Lebanese territory, with no freedom of movement for Israeli forces, and a return to the situation prior to March 2,” the statement said.
That is not how Israel sees the ceasefire. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday said that Israeli forces would remain in southern Lebanon and that “quiet will beget quiet,” meaning Israel reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if Hezbollah fires at Israel.
