Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, told CNN on Thursday that the extended ceasefire in Lebanon is “not 100%," and raised doubts over the Lebanese government’s ability to enforce the agreement in the south of the country, where Hezbollah operates under Iranian backing.
“I have to be honest," said Danon. “You know, the Lebanese government have no control of Hezbollah and Hezbollah is sending rockets trying to sabotage the ceasefire. And Israel, we have to retaliate. Every time we see a threat, we take action."
Danon said the current arrangement is an improvement over the previous situation, but stressed it remains incomplete.
“It’s a significantly better situation. It’s not 100%," he told CNN. “I hope …to see that the Lebanese military are actually able to implement and to enforce this ceasefire."
Danon’s comments followed US President Donald Trump’s announcement in a post on Truth Social that the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon will be extended by three weeks.
His post came after he participated in the direct talks between Israel and Lebanon at the White House.
"The President of the United States, DONALD J. TRUMP, Vice President of the United States, JD Vance, Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, and Ambassador to Lebanon, Michel Issa, met today with High Ranking Representatives of Israel and Lebanon in the Oval Office. The Meeting went very well! The United States is going to work with Lebanon in order to help it protect itself from Hezbollah," Trump wrote.
“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!" he added.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office after the announcement, Trump said 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."
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."