A 10-day ceasefire announced by U.S. President Donald Trump and agreed on by Lebanon and Israel started at midnight local time. The Israeli and Lebanese governments agreed to the ceasefire following more than a month of war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. Nearly 2,200 people in Lebanon have been killed by Israeli air strikes.
Israel’s hardline Defense Minister Israel Katz warned on Friday that Israel’s attempts to completely disarm Hezbollah in southern Lebanon “is not yet complete.” Katz said that Israel would continue to hold all the places it is currently stationed. “We defined the goal: disarming Hezbollah by military or diplomatic means, was and remains the goal of the campaign to which we are committed.”
Trump also said he’s inviting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to the White House for the leaders’ first direct talks in over 30 years. Aoun had refused to speak with Netanyahu on Thursday. Israel’s and Lebanon’s respective ambassadors to the U.S. held their first direct diplomatic talks in decades earlier this week.
Pakistan’s army chief met with Iranian officials in Tehran on Thursday in a bid to extend the separate ceasefire between Israel, the U.S. and Iran. Uncertainty remains whether the frantic diplomacy can lead to a deal. A second round of US-Iran talks hasn’t been scheduled yet, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Thursday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.