US President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with reporters at the Oval Office on Thursday, following another round of talks between Israel and Lebanon.
Israel’s Ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, and Lebanon’s Ambassador to the US, Nada Hamadeh Moawad, who represented their countries in the meeting, and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, were present as well.
The press conference took place just after Trump announced on Truth Social that the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon would be extended by three weeks.
Trump said at the start of the meeting with reporters that he hopes to host a meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in Washington within the next few weeks.
“We had a great meeting with the very high officials of Lebanon and very high officials of Israel. And we think that the President of Lebanon and the Prime Minister of Israel over the next couple of weeks will be coming here. They've agreed to an additional three weeks of, I guess, no firing, ceasefire, no more firing," Trump said, adding, “It's not going to happen between them, but they do have Hezbollah to think about."
He continued, “We're going to be working with Lebanon to get things straightened out in that country. I really believe it's something we can do pretty easily, just with the power of who we are, the great people, the Lebanese people. We have our ambassador here who has done a fantastic job, Ambassador to Lebanon from the United States. And we had a great conversation, and I think it's the beginning of something very important. It'd be a wonderful thing to get this worked out simultaneously with what we're doing in Iran."
Trump said Israel would be permitted to defend itself if Hezbollah fires towards its territory but “they are going to do it carefully and surgical".
A reporter asked Trump whether he believes there is a chance for peace between Israel and Lebanon this year, to which the President replied, “I think it is a great chance. I mean, you know, they're friends about the same things and they're enemies on the same things and it has to do with, I guess you could say a couple of countries, but certainly it's, if you look at Hezbollah, that's where everybody seems to be united."
Vice President Vance said that this is “an historic moment" and added, "We're going to extend the ceasefire for three weeks, that’s already in place between Israel and Lebanon. Of course, it wouldn’t have happened without the President’s direct engagement."
Ambassador Huckabee said, “The people of Lebanon and the people of Israel are neighbors, and they want to get along. They can get along. But it's like neighbors who have a rough little kid living in the neighborhood who keeps throwing rocks at everybody's window. And if the kid will quit throwing rocks, the neighbors can get along and start actually working together."
“The President has initiated something that is truly bringing the neighborhood back to a neighborhood and recognizing that the problem is not Lebanon and the problem is not Israel. The problem is Hezbollah, the bad little kid throwing rocks. That's what the President is getting launched today - to get that little kid out of the neighborhood," he added.
Ambassador Leiter thanked Trump and added, “Israel wants peace with Lebanon and Israel wants security for its citizens. We're united with the Lebanese government in wanting to rid the country of this malign influence called Hezbollah. And now that Mr. President, under your leadership, Iran has been so degraded, the possibility of degrading Hezbollah and liberating Lebanon from their occupation is real."
“So we hope that together, under your leadership, we can formalize peace between Israel and Lebanon in the very near future. And we are just very thankful for the opportunity," Leiter said.
The Lebanese Ambassador thanked Trump for his leadership and his support for Lebanon and said, “I think with your help, with your support, we can make Lebanon great again."
Trump’s announcement on the extension of the ceasefire followed Hezbollah’s latest blatant violation of the ceasefire, when the terrorist group fired four rockets towards Shtula in the Western Galilee just before midnight.
All of the rockets were intercepted by air defense systems. No impacts were reported inside Israeli territory, and there were no casualties.
Lebanon and Israel, formally at war since 1948, held an initial round of talks in Washington on April 14.
Despite the ceasefire, Hezbollah’s violations have continued, and Israel has retaliated by striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.
The ceasefire framework published by the US State Department last week stipulates that Israel retains what it described as the right to self-defense against threats.
Hezbollah has criticized the decision to engage in direct negotiations, accusing the Lebanese government of making concessions without broad political or public consensus.
Lebanese officials have reiterated that decisions regarding war, peace, and negotiations rest solely with the state, stressing that the diplomatic track seeks to spare the country further suffering.