West Asia conflict highlights: Trump announces 10-day Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, plans historic leaders’ summit

A 10day ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel came into effect on Friday as US President Donald Trump announced efforts to arrange the firstever facetoface meeting between the leaders of the two countriesThe truce which began at midnight local time in Lebanon and Israel 9 pm GMT230 am IST follows intensive US mediation to end the ongoing IsraelIran conflict with Tehran insisting that any deal must include a halt to hostilities in LebanonAs the ceasefire took hold gunfire echoed in Beirutrsquos southern suburbs mdash Hezbollahrsquos stronghold mdash in what appeared to be spontaneous celebrations by residentsThe wider regional conflict escalated when the US and Israel struck Iran on February 28 Lebanon was drawn in shortly afterwards when Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel on March 2 Since then Israeli strikes have killed more than 2000 people in Lebanon and displaced over one million while Israeli ground forces entered southern LebanonJust as the ceasefire began the Israeli military stated that it had struck over 380 ldquoHezbollah terror organisation targetsrdquo in southern Lebanon in recent operations and remained on ldquohigh alertrdquo to resume strikes if necessaryPresident Trump described the deal as the outcome of ldquoexcellentrdquo telephone conversations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun Posting on Truth Social he said the two leaders had agreed to a 10day ceasefire starting at 5 pm EST He later indicated that Netanyahu and Aoun could visit the White House within the next four or five days Such a direct meeting would mark a historic development in IsraelLebanon relationsAn Israeli hospital spokesman reported that three people were injured on Thursday shortly before the truce Earlier that day an Israeli strike on the southern Lebanese town of Ghazieh killed at least seven people and wounded 33 according to Lebanonrsquos health ministryNetanyahu welcomed the ceasefire as an opportunity for a ldquohistoric peace agreementrdquo with Beirut but stressed that the disarmament of Hezbollah remained a key precondition Trump stated that Hezbollah was covered by the truce while the US State Department clarified that Lebanon itself had committed to dismantling the Iranbacked groupUnited Nations SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres welcomed the ceasefire and urged ldquoall actors to fully respectrdquo it mdash a call that implicitly includes Hezbollah He expressed hope that the truce would advance negotiations for a lasting solution and contribute to broader regional peace while stressing full compliance with international law and the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701Celebrations break out in LebanonIn Beirut housewife Jamal Shehab 61 said ldquoWe are very happy that a ceasefire has been reached in Lebanon because we are tired of war and we want safety and peacerdquoLawyer Tarek Bou Khalil speaking at a cafe remarked ldquoItrsquos well known Trump cannot be taken at his word and Netanyahu cannot be trusted But we know that the result of the pressures of the war with Iran and the blunders of Netanyahu and the enemy army in south Lebanon forced them into a ceasefirerdquoA Hezbollah lawmaker Ibrahim alMoussawi told AFP the group would ldquocautiously adhererdquo to the ceasefire provided Israel stopped its attacks He thanked Iran for its pressure adding that ldquothe ceasefire would not have happened without Iran considering the ceasefire as equal to closing the Strait of HormuzrdquoLebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam described the truce as ldquoa key Lebanese demand that we have pursued since the very first day of the warrdquo President Aounrsquos office thanked Trump for his efforts though Aoun reportedly declined a direct call with NetanyahuThe ceasefire follows a rare meeting this week in Washington between the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors mdash the first such contact since 1993Israel imposes two conditionsNetanyahu said Israel had agreed to the truce but would maintain a 10kilometre sixmile ldquosecurity zonerdquo along the border in southern Lebanon He reiterated two conditions the disarmament of Hezbollah and a lasting peace agreement ldquobased on strengthrdquoAccording to a sixpoint US State Department statement the ceasefire is framed as ldquoa gesture of goodwill by the Government of Israelrdquo to enable negotiations toward a permanent security and peace agreement Israel retains the right to take all necessary measures in selfdefence against planned imminent or ongoing attacks while agreeing not to conduct offensive operations against Lebanese targets by land air or seaLebanonrsquos army later reported ldquoacts of aggressionrdquo by Israel that it described as violations of the ceasefire and called on southern residents to remain cautiousIran credits ceasefire to HezbollahIranrsquos Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf credited the ceasefire to ldquoHezbollahrsquos steadfastness and the unity of the Axis of Resistancerdquo He described the truce as equally important for Lebanon as for Iran and thanked Pakistan and General Asim Munir for their mediation effortsSeparately the United States continued enforcing a largescale maritime blockade on Iranian ports and coastline deploying over 10000 personnel 12 ships including the USS Abraham Lincoln and more than 100 aircraft The US Central Command CENTCOM clarified that the blockade does not cover the Strait of Hormuz itselfSpeaking in Las Vegas President Trump said the US was heading toward ldquovictory very shortlyrdquo against Iran He claimed Iran ldquohas no Navy leftrdquo stating that 158 Iranian ships were ldquoat the bottom of the seardquo and described the country as ldquoa tough smart countryrdquo whose military capabilities had been significantly degradedTrump added that Washington was ldquovery closerdquo to a peace deal with Iran after six weeks of conflict and might travel to Pakistan to sign any agreementThe durability of the IsraelLebanon ceasefire will likely depend on both sides mdash and Hezbollah mdash refraining from further attacks in the coming daysWith AFP and ANI inputs