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

Trump says Israel-Lebanon ceasefire to be extended by three weeks4 hours agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleHenri AstierReutersDonald Trump, flanked by JD Vance and Marco Rubio, discusses the ceasefire in the Oval OfficeUS President Donald Trump said a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon would be extended by three weeks after fresh talks between the countries' envoys in Washington.Announcing the extension on Truth Social, the US president said the meeting "went very well", adding the US would be working with Lebanon "to help it protect itself from Hezbollah".The ceasefire, announced after a meeting in Washington last week, was set to expire on Sunday. The aim is to end more than seven weeks of fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.In the Oval Office, Trump said both Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would 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."I think it will be a wonderful thing to get this worked out simultaneously with what we are doing in Iran."Speaking in the Oval Office with Trump, Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad and Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter praised Trump for his role in the talks.Leiter said Israel and Lebanon were united in their aim to rid Lebanon of "this malign influence called Hezbollah".Both Hezbollah and Israel have accused each other of violating the ceasefire agreement.ReutersStrikes by both sides have continued despite last week's ceasefire agreementOn Thursday evening local time, as the talks in Washington were set to get under way, Hezbollah said it had fired rockets at northern Israel in response to an Israeli "violation of the ceasefire". The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had intercepted the launches.On Wednesday, Lebanon accused Israel of...