U.S. President Donald Trump announced late Thursday night in a post on the TruthSocial network that the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah will be extended by three weeks. Trump's announcement came shortly after the start of talks between Israel and Lebanon and after Hezbollah violated the ceasefire and launched four rockets at Shtula in the Western Galilee.
Trump wrote in the post that his meeting with representatives of Israel and Lebanon in the Oval Office "went very well!", adding that "the United States is going to work with Lebanon in order to help it protect itself from Hezbollah." He concluded: "The Ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon will be extended by THREE WEEKS. I look forward in the near future to hosting the Prime Minister of Israel, Bibi Netanyahu, and the President of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun. It was a Great Honor to be a participant at this very Historic Meeting!"
Interception in Shtula
The launches into the Galilee were the first time in two days that an alert had been raised in Israeli territory. No damage or casualties were reported from the intercepted shots, which came just before the start of the second round of direct talks between Israel and Lebanon at the White House.
The IDF said that "a number of launches were identified that crossed from Lebanese territory into Israeli territory. The Air Force intercepted the launches, and alerts were raised according to policy." In Lebanon, it was reported that the Air Force attacked targets in southern Lebanon in response.
The Hezbollah terror group has continued in recent days to operate against Israel Defense Forces troops in southern Lebanon, and since the morning has claimed responsibility for six separate attacks against Israel and IDF forces, the latest of them the rocket fire toward Shtula.
The Israeli military, for its part, has continued demolishing homes and what it describes as militant infrastructure in villages in southern Lebanon, and from time to time has carried out airstrikes against what it calls “immediate threats.” One such strike in the afternoon targeted a vehicle in Nabatieh, north of the Blue Line — the U.N.-demarcated boundary between Israel and Lebanon — and, according to reports, killed three people. In addition, the Israeli military said it struck two armed Hezbollah operatives in Aita al-Shaab in southern Lebanon.
According to a senior official in the Trump administration, the president is expected to receive at the White House Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, and his Lebanese counterpart, Nada Hamadeh Mouawad. Trump is also expected to be photographed with them and to “take part in some of the talks,” the official said.
First published: 23:44, 04.23.26