President Trump Announces Ceasefire Between Israel and Hezbollah

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on June 1 that Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah have agreed to halt attacks on each other after indirect talks mediated through intermediaries. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and communicated with Hezbollah via a "senior representative."

"I had a very good call with Hezbollah, and they agreed that all shooting would stop—Israel will not attack them, and they will not attack Israel," Trump wrote. This marks the first time a U.S. president has engaged directly or indirectly with Hezbollah, which Washington designates as a terrorist organization.

According to a statement from the Lebanese Embassy in Washington, the proposed deal calls for Hezbollah to cease attacks on Israel in exchange for Israel halting airstrikes on Beirut and its southern suburbs. Trump also stated that Netanyahu agreed to withdraw any Israeli forces preparing to strike the Lebanese capital. However, the Israeli prime minister later insisted that plans to attack Beirut would continue if Hezbollah takes any further action against Israel.

Escalation Context in Lebanon

Iran declared that one of its conditions for reaching a deal to end the war with the U.S. is Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon. Hezbollah, an Iran-backed armed group, began firing rockets into northern Israel after the initial U.S.-Israel strikes on Tehran in late February. Since early March, Israel has carried out relentless airstrikes on Lebanon, now controlling about one-fifth of the country's territory.

Lebanon's Health Ministry reports that over 3,412 people have been killed and 10,269 wounded in Israeli attacks since March 2. More than one million people in Lebanon have been displaced. Notably, previous ceasefire efforts between Israel and Lebanon have failed. A 10-day truce announced on April 22, later extended by three weeks, failed to end the fighting.

Reactions from Parties

Prime Minister Netanyahu's office stated that Israel reserves the right to strike Beirut if Hezbollah continues its attacks. The Israeli military has issued new evacuation orders for residents of Beirut's southern suburbs, warning it will target the Dahiyeh area if Hezbollah fires rockets at Israel.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese Embassy in Washington issued a detailed statement saying Hezbollah accepted the U.S. proposal for a "mutual cessation of attacks." Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah affirmed the group supports a "comprehensive ceasefire across Lebanese territory" as a stepping stone for an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon. Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a close Hezbollah ally, said he can ensure the group's "full, comprehensive, and immediate" compliance with the ceasefire, adding, "The real question is who will force Israel to stop its aggression?"

Significance of the Announcement

Analyst Sami Nader, director of the Levant Institute for Strategic Studies, described the Israeli strikes on Lebanon as "a very dangerous escalation" and said the only solution is to separate the Lebanon ceasefire from the Iran issue. "In reality, everyone except Hezbollah wants to decouple these two issues," he said.

Trump's contact with Hezbollah is being described as "unprecedented" if it is indeed a direct conversation with the armed group rather than its allies. This could mark a breakthrough in Hezbollah-U.S. relations since the 1980s. Although the U.S. has never directly negotiated with Hezbollah, American officials have often relied on Lebanese state figures, particularly Speaker Berri, as intermediaries during regional crises.