US President Donald Trump on Monday said Hezbollah and Israel had agreed to stop attacking each other after weeks of intense fighting and fears the Israeli military would increase attacks on Beirut.
Mr Trump said he had secured a pledge from Iran-backed Hezbollah not to attack Israel, and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed his forces would not push deeper into Lebanon.
“I had a conversation with Bibi [Benjamin] Netanyahu today, asking him not to go into a major raid of Beirut, Lebanon. He turned his troops around. Thank you Bibi,” Mr Trump said on Truth Social.
He added that he “had a conversation” with representatives of the leaders of Hezbollah, which the US has designated as a terrorist group.
“They agreed to stop shooting at Israel and its soldiers. Likewise, Israel agreed to stop shooting at them. Let’s see how long that lasts – Hopefully it will be for eternity,” he wrote.
According to Lebanon's embassy in Washington, the agreement calls for Israel to refrain from strikes on Beirut and its suburbs controlled by Hezbollah, while Hezbollah would halt its attacks on Israel.
Mr Netanyahu said he had told Mr Trump that: “If Hezbollah does not stop firing at our cities and citizens – Israel will strike terrorist targets in Beirut.”
The developments came hours after Mr Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said the Israeli military had been instructed to strike “Hezbollah targets” in Beirut's southern suburbs after ordering residents to leave.
In an earlier post on Truth Social, Mr Trump said he had held “very productive” talks with Mr Netanyahu.
But Axios quoted US officials as saying that Mr Trump was furious in the call, saying “everybody hates Israel” because of its threats to bomb Beirut.
The Israeli embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Israel will not attack them and they will not attack Israel,” Mr Trump said of Hezbollah.
Israeli news outlet Ynet, quoting an Israeli official, meanwhile reported that Israel had postponed a strike on Dahieh in Beirut at the request of the US.
“The Lebanese authorities received confirmation of Hezbollah’s agreement to the US proposal, which calls for a reciprocal cessation of attacks,” the Lebanese embassy wrote in a statement.
Under the proposal, Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs would stop in exchange for Hezbollah refraining from attacks on Israel, with the framework expected to expand to cover all Lebanese territory, according to the statement.
The embassy added that Mr Trump had informed Lebanon’s ambassador to Washington, Nada Moawad, that Mr Netanyahu had agreed to the arrangement.
The agreement came after a call between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to the statement.
A new round of talks between Israel and Lebanon is expected to take place in Washington this week at the State Department. Last week, military officials from the two countries met at the Pentagon.
More than 1.2 million people in Lebanon have been displaced by Israeli strikes and orders to flee their homes since the conflict escalated.
About 3,300 people have been killed and Israeli troops have destroyed much of the country's villages and cities in the south.
Iran talks
What happens in Lebanon has become closely entwined with what happens in Iran and the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian leaders had earlier announced a suspension of negotiations with Washington, saying that a ceasefire in Lebanon must be secured before any broader agreement with the US could move forward.
Mr Trump said talks with Iran were continuing “at a rapid pace”.
Later, he told ABC News that while there had been “a little glitch today”, he had “turned that one around very quickly”.
Mr Trump added that an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz would be completed and agreed to “over the next week”.
