Trump Halts Israeli Strikes as Hezbollah Accepts Ceasefire
The United States brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah halting Israeli strikes on Beirut, though Israeli and American officials offered conflicting accounts of the agreement.
According to Brussels Signal, the arrangement requires Israel to cease attacks on Beirut’s southern suburbs while Hezbollah stops launching strikes against Israeli territory. The Lebanese embassy in Washington issued a statement confirming Hezbollah’s acceptance, with expectations that the ceasefire will eventually expand to cover all of Lebanon.
Donald Trump announced on social media that he had conducted a productive telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, revealing that Israeli forces preparing to enter Beirut had already turned back. The American president stated he had also communicated with Hezbollah, which agreed to cease fire, establishing a mutual non-aggression arrangement.
However, Netanyahu presented a different version of events. The Israeli leader insisted he had warned Trump that Israel would target terrorist positions in Beirut if Hezbollah continued firing on Israeli cities, and that this policy remained in effect. Netanyahu emphasized that Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon were proceeding as planned.
The Israeli Prime Minister had previously authorized strikes against Hezbollah positions in Beirut following attacks by the group, including one that resulted in the death of an Israeli soldier near the Beaufort crusader castle, which Israeli forces captured on May 31. Israeli forces subsequently issued evacuation warnings for Dahiyeh, the southern Beirut neighborhoods known as a Hezbollah stronghold.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz claimed Trump had endorsed Israel’s position that attacks on Israeli communities justified bombing operations in Beirut.
The agreement sparked sharp internal criticism within Israel’s government. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who heads the right-wing Jewish Power party, urged Netanyahu to reject Trump’s proposal outright.
Opposition leaders condemned what they characterized as capitulation to Washington. Yair Lapid, leader of the Yesh Atid party, described Israel as a client state, while former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett went further, declaring that Israel effectively has no prime minister.
The current round of major hostilities erupted on March 2 when Hezbollah launched projectiles at Israel in retaliation for the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during a joint American-Israeli military offensive against Iran that began on February 28.
The parties had previously agreed to a ceasefire in November 2024 following 13 months of fighting that began after the October 7, 2023 attacks. Israel maintained regular bombing campaigns against Lebanon and retained control of several areas afterward, citing the need to counter Hezbollah operations.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun discussed the ceasefire proposal with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Hezbollah received briefings on the negotiations from both Aoun and Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, who leads the allied Shia Amal movement.
Hezbollah Member of Parliament Hassan Fadlallah told the Al Manar television channel that his organization seeks a comprehensive ceasefire and rejects any return to conditions that existed before March 2. Lebanese and Israeli delegations were scheduled to resume formal negotiations on June 2.
With information from Brussels Signal
