The 10-day truce comes into effect with the mediation of the United States... Lebanon welcomes
The ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel came into effect from midnight local time of the two countries (9 p.m. GMT) for 10 days only.
On Thursday evening, US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire in Lebanon for 10 days starting at midnight on Thursday/Friday Tel Aviv and Beirut time.
In a post on his Truth Social account, he said: "I just had excellent talks with the honorable President Joseph Aoun, the President of Lebanon, and with the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu."
"These two leaders agreed that in order to achieve peace between their countries, they would officially begin a 10-day ceasefire at 5 p.m. East Coast time of the United States" (midnight Lebanon-Israel time and 21:00 GMT).
The Lebanese army said intermittent shelling hit a number of villages in the south after the ceasefire came into effect, calling on citizens to wait to return to southern villages and towns.
Since March 2, Israel has been waging an aggression against Lebanon that has left 2,196 martyrs, 7,185 wounded, and more than one million displaced, according to the latest official data.
On March 9, Aoun announced an initiative that includes a truce to stop Israeli aggressions, start direct negotiations with Israel under international auspices, provide necessary logistical support to the Lebanese army, and confiscate Hezbollah's weapons, which the latter rejects.
The Lebanese government is adopting a plan to disarm Hezbollah, which it describes as a "resistance movement" to Israel, which has been occupying areas in southern Lebanon for decades and others during the 2023-2024 war.
In October 2023, Israel launched a war on Lebanon, and in November of the following year a ceasefire was declared, but Tel Aviv continued to violate it daily, and then expanded its aggression on March 2.
Lebanon welcomes
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam announced on Thursday evening that he welcomed US President Donald Trump's announcement of a 10-day ceasefire in Lebanon, calling it a "pivotal Lebanese demand".
In a post on his account on the American platform "X", Salam said: "I welcome the declaration of a ceasefire announced by President Trump, which is a pivotal Lebanese demand that we have sought since the first day of the war, and it was our first goal in the meeting in Washington on Tuesday."
"As I congratulate all Lebanese on this achievement, I have mercy on the martyrs who fell, and I affirm my solidarity with their families, the wounded, and the citizens who were forced to flee their cities and villages, and I hope that they will be able to return to them as soon as possible," Salam added in his post.
He also thanked all those who made efforts to reach a ceasefire, "especially by the United States, France, the European Union countries, and all our Arab brothers, foremost among them Saudi Arabia and the Arab Republic of Egypt, in addition to the State of Qatar and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan."
The occupation destroys the last bridges with the south
On Thursday, the Israeli occupation army published a video and photos documenting it blew up dozens of houses within a minute in the town of Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon, claiming that they are Hezbollah infrastructures.
A senior Lebanese security official said an Israeli strike had targeted the last bridge connecting southern Lebanon to the rest of the country, adding that the strike blew up the bridge without any possibility of repairing it.
The Israeli army distributed the video documenting the bombing of houses in the Kasbah Ainta neighborhood in Bint Jbeil, using explosives, and also published a photo of the houses standing and others after they were blown up, which turned into rubble.
"The forces of the Commando Brigade under the command of the 98th Division are working to deepen the ground operation and destroy hostile infrastructure in southern Lebanon," the army said in a statement.
"In the Kasbah Ainta neighborhood of Bint Jbeil, soldiers from the Igoz unit on Wednesday raided a combat zone used by Hizbullah," he said, claiming that they had found dozens of weapons.. After completing the surveys and inspections, the forces destroyed about 70 infrastructure in just one minute."
The occupation army will not withdraw during the truce
An Israeli official revealed on Thursday that the army does not plan to withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon during any ceasefire. According to Reuters.
"We have informed Iran's ambassador in Beirut that a week-long ceasefire may begin this evening," Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said, according to Reuters.
In response to a question about whether Hizbullah would abide by the truce, Fadlallah pointed out that "everything is linked to Israel's commitment to stop all forms of hostilities."
Text of the Armistice Agreement
The following is the document of the agreement as published by the US State Department on its website:
Israel and Lebanon will implement a cessation of hostilities from 16 April 2026 at 17:00 US East Coast Time (21:00 GMT), for an initial period of ten days, as a gesture of goodwill by the Government of Israel, with the aim of allowing for negotiations in good faith to reach a lasting agreement for security and peace between the two countries.
This initial period could be extended by mutual agreement between Lebanon and Israel if progress is made in the negotiations, and if Lebanon effectively demonstrates its ability to assert its sovereignty.
Israel reserves the right to take all necessary measures in self-defense at any time, against planned, imminent or ongoing attacks. This right will not be constrained by the cessation of hostilities. In addition, Israel will not carry out any offensive military operations against Lebanese targets, including civilian, military, or other state targets within Lebanese territory by land, air or sea.
4. Effective April 16, 2026 at 17:00 U.S. East Coast Time, and with international support, the Government of Lebanon will take concrete steps to prevent Hizballah and all other non-state armed groups within Lebanese territory from carrying out any hostile attacks, operations, or activities against Israeli targets.
5. All parties recognize that the Lebanese Security Forces bear exclusive responsibility for Lebanon's sovereignty and national defense, and that no other state or group has the right to claim to be the guarantor of Lebanon's sovereignty.
Israel and Lebanon request the United States to facilitate further direct negotiations between the two countries with a view to resolving all outstanding issues, including the demarcation of the international land border, in preparation for reaching a comprehensive agreement that guarantees security, stability and lasting peace between the two countries.