Israel and Lebanon have announced a 10-day ceasefire to allow negotiations for a more permanent security and peace agreement to continue.<\/p>\n
The truce was announced by United States President Donald Trump on Thursday and came into effect at 21:00 GMT.<\/p>\n list of 3 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n The ceasefire follows six weeks of fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese group, Hezbollah. In its war on Lebanon, Israel has killed at least 2,196 people and displaced more than one million.<\/p>\n But on Friday morning, Lebanon\u2019s army reported several ceasefire violations by Israeli forces.<\/p>\n Will the ceasefire last? What are its terms? Here\u2019s what we know:<\/p>\n Announcing the ceasefire on Thursday, Trump called it a \u201chistoric day\u201d.<\/p>\n In a post on Truth Social, he said, \u201cMay have been a historic day for Lebanon. Good things are happening.\u201d<\/p>\n According to a statement released by the US State Department on Thursday, under the terms of the ceasefire agreement, Israel will \u201cpreserve its right to take all necessary measures in self-defence\u201d, while not carrying out \u201cany offensive military operations\u201d.<\/p>\n The statement suggested that Israel can also exercise this right \u201cat any time, against planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThis shall not be impeded by the cessation of hostilities,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n Trump said that the 10-day truce includes Hezbollah.<\/p>\n \u201cI hope Hezbollah acts nicely and well during this important period of time. It will be an GREAT moment for them if they do,\u201d Trump wrote in his Truth Social post.<\/p>\n \u201cNo more killing. Must finally have PEACE!\u201d<\/p>\n The direct negotiations to discuss a truce between Israeli and Lebanese officials in Washington on Tuesday did not include Hezbollah, however. The Lebanese armed group had opposed the ceasefire talks.<\/p>\n On Thursday, Ali Fayyad, a Hezbollah politician, told Al Jazeera Arabic that the group will approach the newly announced ceasefire with \u201ccaution and vigilance\u201d and any targeting of Lebanese sites by Israeli forces will constitute a breach of the truce.<\/p>\n \u201cThe next phase is thorny and fraught with pitfalls and challenges,\u201d Fayyad said, adding that the \u201cworst-case scenario\u201d for Lebanon would be the resumption of civil strife.<\/p>\n Israel has demanded that the Lebanese government disarm Hezbollah, which refuses to give up its arms as long as Israeli forces remain on the ground in Lebanon and pose a threat to the country.<\/p>\n Late on Thursday, Israel\u2019s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government now has the opportunity to \u201cmake a historic deal\u201d with Beirut.<\/p>\n He said that Israel had \u201cagreed\u201d to the temporary, 10-day ceasefire but its forces would remain in Lebanon with an \u201cextensive\u201d security zone up to the Syrian border.<\/p>\n He highlighted that Israel\u2019s key demand remains the disarmament of Hezbollah and said that Israel would not agree to Hezbollah\u2019s request that it withdraw troops beyond its border.<\/p>\n Former Israeli diplomat Alon Pinkas dismissed the Israeli government\u2019s framing of the deal, telling Al Jazeera: \u201cNetanyahu says a lot of things. I wouldn\u2019t take him at face value. He\u2019s saying this because he was coerced into this by President Trump. This is not a ceasefire that he wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n On Netanyahu\u2019s suggestion that the truce could pave the way for a historic peace deal, Pinkas pointed to repeated failed efforts in the past.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Netanyahu failed \u2026 he failed in his stated objective of disarming Hezbollah,\u201d he said, adding: \u201cI honestly cannot see any peace agreement being signed between Israel and Lebanon, with Hezbollah still armed.\u201d<\/p>\n Yair Lapid, Israel\u2019s opposition leader,\u00a0 also slammed the ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel announced by Trump.<\/p>\n \u201cNot for the first time, all the promises of this [Netanyahu] government are crashing against the ground of reality. The confrontation in Lebanon can only end in one way: the permanent removal of the threat to the northern settlements,\u201d Lapid said in a post on X.<\/p>\n \u201cIn this government, it will no longer happen; we will do it in the next government,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n After the ceasefire was announced on Thursday, celebratory gunfire was heard in Beirut as the truce began.<\/p>\n But displaced people in downtown Beirut told Al Jazeera they didn\u2019t trust the Israelis to uphold the ceasefire and would wait before returning to their homes \u2013 if they have homes to return to at all.<\/p>\n On Friday, the Lebanese military said there had already been a number of ceasefire violations, \u201cwith several Israeli attacks recorded, in addition to intermittent shelling targeting a number of villages\u201d.<\/p>\n In a post on X, the Lebanese army also renewed its call for citizens to \u201cexercise caution in returning to southern villages and towns\u201d as the ceasefire takes effect in Lebanon.<\/p>\n The Lebanon 24 media outlet has reported that Israeli forces fired a machinegun and an artillery shell towards an ambulance team affiliated with the Islamic Health Authority in Kunin in the Nabatieh Governorate of Southern Lebanon. The news outlet said casualties have been reported.<\/p>\n Earlier, Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee issued an \u201curgent message\u201d to the residents of southern Lebanon , warning them to remain north of the Litani River despite the commencement of the ceasefire.<\/p>\n In a statement on X, Adraee said that while the ceasefire agreement has entered its implementation phase, Israeli forces are maintaining their current positions to counter what he described as \u201congoing terrorist activities\u201d by Hezbollah.<\/p>\n \u201cUntil further notice, you are requested not to move south of the Litani River,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n In a statement carried by Lebanon\u2019s National News Agency on Thursday, Hezbollah had also urged displaced people to remain cautious amid uncertainty over the truce.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the announcement of the ceasefire, and in the face of a treacherous enemy that is accustomed to breaking covenants and agreements, we call on you to be patient and not to head to the targeted areas in the South, the Bekaa and the southern suburbs of Beirut, until the course of events becomes fully clear,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n Pinkas told Al Jazeera that despite a ceasefire, key details in the agreement remain unresolved, particularly in southern Lebanon.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a Hezbollah kill zone in the south of Lebanon, and it\u2019s not at all clear that the ceasefire will include that area. And once the ceasefire becomes partial, it ceases to be a ceasefire,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n But people are eager to return to their homes in the south despite the ceasefire violations.<\/p>\n Reporting from Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, Al Jazeera\u2019s Zeina Khodr said people returning don\u2019t want to give up their land.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a lot of anger. But at the same time, people here tell you that they have managed to remain steadfast,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n On Thursday night, in the run-up to the ceasefire, Hezbollah said its fighters had launched 38 attacks on Israeli forces inside Lebanese territory and 37 attacks in northern Israel.<\/p>\n On Friday morning, however, sirens which sound before a missile strike remained silent across Israel.<\/p>\n But leaders of regional councils in northern Israeli regions, which include the worst-hit areas from the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, expressed unhappiness with the ceasefire.<\/p>\n Moshe Davidovich, head of the Mateh Asher Regional Council in the western Galilee of northern Israel, told local media in a statement that the ceasefire and the establishment of a security zone up to the Litani River \u201cis not a diplomatic achievement\u201d but risks further violence.<\/p>\n \u201cThe residents of the north are not mere statistics in a show of international public relations,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Shimon Guetta, head of the Ma\u2019ale Yosef Regional Council, also in northern Israel, rejected outside influence over Israel\u2019s security policy, and demanded that any agreement must guarantee \u201ccomplete disarmament of Hezbollah\u201d and \u201cabsolute security\u201d for northern communities, adding that \u201cagreements on paper are meaningless\u201d without clear enforcement.<\/p>\n Political commentator Abed Abou Shhadeh has told Al Jazeera that Israelis, especially those in the north of the country, have borne the brunt of attacks from Hezbollah and that has left them frustrated with news of the ceasefire.<\/p>\n \u201cFirst of all, they were surprised that Hezbollah was able to maintain military capabilities and fight until the last minute of the ceasefire,\u201d Shhadeh told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n \u201cSecond, this is not what they were promised,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey were promised absolute victory. They were promised that Israel would turn all of southern Lebanon into a buffer zone. And they [Israeli forces] weren\u2019t able to do it,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Shhadeh said the ceasefire also underscores the impression among many Israelis that they were being lied to by their own government.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s this feeling that they weren\u2019t told the truth [or] everything regarding the American-Iranian ceasefire agreement. Iran and Pakistan said and mentioned that the ceasefire includes Lebanon,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cAt first, Israel and the United States refused to acknowledge that. And now the person, or the politician, who told the Israeli public about the ceasefire was Donald Trump,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Thursday\u2019s ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah comes after a previous one, which had ostensibly been in effect since November 27, 2024. But the United Nations has counted more than 10,000 Israeli ceasefire violations since then, as well as hundreds of Lebanese deaths.<\/p>\n Israel has repeatedly told the Lebanese government that Hezbollah must be disarmed for any truce to last.<\/p>\n Hezbollah has long been considered the strongest military force in Lebanon, though it has been weakened by the war with Israel and much of its leadership has been killed. But the group still retains the support of Lebanon\u2019s Shia community, from which it emerged.<\/p>\n The Lebanese government has been uneasy about Hezbollah\u2019s influence in the country. Last December, the government said it was close to completing the disarmament of Hezbollah south of the Litani River before a year-end deadline as part of the 2024 ceasefire deal with Israel.<\/p>\n At the start of the latest conflict, the Lebanese government also outlawed Hezbollah\u2019s military wing.<\/p>\n But in January, Israel said Hezbollah still had a presence close to the border and was rebuilding its military capabilities \u201cfaster than the [Lebanese] army is dismantling [them]\u201d.<\/p>\n For its part, Hezbollah has said that Israel needs to withdraw from the country\u2019s southern region first as part of the 2024 ceasefire deal agreed between the armed group and Israel. That fighting erupted in October 2023 after Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. More than 3,768 Lebanese people were killed and 1.2 million were displaced in Israeli attacks.<\/p>\n Rami Khouri, a distinguished public policy fellow at the American University of Beirut, told Al Jazeera that Hezbollah is at the \u201ccentre of the ceasefire, but behind a curtain\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Hezbollah and Lebanese government\u2019s relationship has always been a subtle and complex one,\u201d Khouri said.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes, they contest against each other, and often they work with each other,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n While Hezbollah and the government differ on their views on resistance to Israel, Khouri said, the Lebanese army would not try to forcibly take arms from Hezbollah because that would create huge sectarian tensions in the country.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, Hezbollah has to carry out behind-the-scenes, informal dialogue with the Lebanese government,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has welcomed Thursday\u2019s ceasefire and in a post on X, described the truce as \u201ca central Lebanese demand we have pursued since the first day of the war\u201d. But the government has always been apprehensive of Israel\u2019s actions. Lebanon\u2019s President Joseph Aoun also previously refused to speak directly with Netanyahu about their differences.<\/p>\n Sami Nader, director of the Institute of Political Science at Saint Joseph University in Lebanon, told Al Jazeera that the truce could represent a significant opportunity to reset relations between Israel and Lebanon, although its success will depend on several critical factors.<\/p>\n \u201cOn one hand, it may serve as a foundation for a more sustainable, long-term settlement if both sides are willing to engage constructively. This truce should be different from the one made on the 24th of November 2025 when none of the parties respected it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cOn the other hand, the Lebanese government faces the responsibility of the disarmament of Hezbollah. Additionally, external support \u2013 particularly the exceptional backing provided by the Trump administration \u2013 could play a decisive role in achieving this mission,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n On Thursday, Trump revealed that Israel\u2019s Prime Minister Netanyahu and Lebanon\u2019s President Aoun could meet \u2060in Washington over \u2060the \u2060next week or two to discuss the issues between the countries further.<\/p>\n Reporting from Lebanon, Al Jazeera\u2019s Zeina Khodr said that currently, both the Lebanese government and Israel have very different positions, so a 10-day ceasefire is unlikely to provide time to guarantee permanent peace or an improvement in the two countries\u2019 ties.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is why people are still concerned. Because this is a temporary truce. This is not the permanent end to the conflict,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that this [ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon] is mostly about Iran and the US. The Iranians want a comprehensive, regional solution, which cannot happen without curtailing Israel. Trump seems game,\u201d Ori Goldberg, an independent Israeli analyst, told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n On Thursday, after announcing the ceasefire, Trump said a deal to end the war on Iran was \u201cvery close\u201d and that peace talks may resume with Tehran in Pakistan\u2019s capital Islamabad as early as this weekend.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s Foreign Ministry has also welcomed news of the ceasefire in Lebanon, according to Iranian state media, and framed the truce as part of a broader agreement with the US to pause the regional conflict.<\/p>\n Chris Featherstone, a political scientist at the University of York, noted that, so far, Iran has held firm on its negotiation position that the ceasefire between Tehran and the US and Israel should include a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.<\/p>\n \u201cThis deal between Israel and Lebanon could represent a move to set the ground for further US-Iran negotiations, removing a sticking point to further negotiations,\u201d he told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n However, Featherstone pointed out that this could also be another example of Trump seeking to take credit for a negotiated truce.<\/p>\n \u201cHis manoeuvres to gain attention for \u2018ending wars\u2019 as part of his campaign to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize have previously led Trump to claim that he has ended numerous conflicts, real and imagined,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis could be another example of this Trump-style claiming credit,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Nader said that while the ceasefire may be influenced by broader US-Iran dynamics, it should be viewed as a \u201cdistinct\u201d issue.<\/p>\n \u201cIran does retain leverage in the region through its proxy, Hezbollah, which can affect the timing and intensity of escalations,\u201d he told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, the Lebanese track remains fundamentally and legally distinct and should be understood on its own terms. It is not directly tied to issues such as Iran\u2019s nuclear programme or ballistic capabilities,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n \u201cRather, it revolves around bilateral concerns between Lebanon and Israel, including land border delimitation, security for residents on both sides of the frontier, and maritime border issues.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Israel and Lebanon have announced a 10-day ceasefire to allow negotiations for a more permanent security and peace agreement to continue. The truce was announced by United States President Donald Trump on Thursday and came into effect at 21:00 GMT. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list The ceasefire follows six weeks of fighting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19313,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-explained"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19312"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19312\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n
What are the terms of the ceasefire?<\/h2>\n
![\"INTERACTIVE](\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/INTERACTIVE-Evacuation-Lebanon-MARCH-24-2026-1775554735.png?quality=80\")
<\/p>\nWhat has Hezbollah said?<\/h2>\n
What has Israel said about the ceasefire?<\/h2>\n
What does this mean for people in Lebanon?<\/h2>\n
What does this mean for people in northern Israel?<\/h2>\n
Could this truce reset Israel-Lebanon ties?<\/h2>\n
Is this ceasefire all about getting an Iran-US deal?<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"