Netanyahu: "Opportunity for Peace With Lebanon"...Will Iran Conflict Ceasefire Gain Momentum?

Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a formal ten-day ceasefire. The fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant faction in Lebanon, will be temporarily halted, and negotiations between the United States and Israel and Iran are also expected to gain momentum.

According to Israeli media outlets such as Ynet on the 16th (local time), Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the temporary ceasefire with Lebanon, led by U.S. President Donald Trump, has created a historic opportunity to sign a peace agreement.

Lebanese soldiers at the site of an Israeli drone strike targeting a vehicle on the Sadiyat Highway south of Beirut on the 16th (local time). Photo by AFP Yonhap News Agency

Prime Minister Netanyahu, in a video message released immediately after a meeting with security cabinet ministers, declared, "We have been given the opportunity to sign a historic peace agreement with Lebanon," adding, "President Trump is willing to invite me and the Lebanese President to advance this agreement."

Netanyahu further noted that in recent weeks, Lebanon has made the extraordinary gesture of directly proposing peace talks with Israel for the first time in 40 years, stating, "In response to that request, I agreed to a ten-day temporary ceasefire."

Netanyahu identified two key demands that Israel will present in the negotiations with Lebanon: the disarmament of Hezbollah, and a sustainable peace agreement—that is, peace through strength. He went on to say that Hezbollah has demanded, in return for the ceasefire, a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces beyond the border and an end to mutual attacks. He stated, "I did not agree to either of these conditions. We will continue to maintain our presence in the expanded security zone, 10 kilometers wide, in southern Lebanon."

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam expressed his congratulations about the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), saying, "A key demand we have pursued since the start of the war has been fulfilled." However, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, who previously declined a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, did not make an official statement regarding the ceasefire announcement.

However, according to outlets including the Associated Press, Hezbollah stated in an official comment that "any ceasefire must be comprehensive across all of Lebanon, and the Israeli military must not be allowed to move freely." The group also argued that "the presence of Israeli forces on Lebanese territory grants Lebanon and its people the right to resist," pressing for Israeli withdrawal during the ceasefire period.

Nabih Berri, a powerful figure in Lebanese politics and an ally of Hezbollah, issued a statement urging displaced persons to "postpone returning to their hometowns and villages until the situation becomes clearer after the ceasefire agreement takes effect."

On the same day, President Trump announced on his own social media platform Truth Social that he had spoken with Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Aoun, and that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to a ten-day official ceasefire beginning at 5 p.m. Eastern Time (6 a.m. Korea time on April 17, 2026). He also said that, for the first time since 1983, Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Aoun would be invited to the White House for talks between the two countries.

Israel and Lebanon have effectively been in a state of war for 78 years since Israel's founding in 1948. On April 14, the two countries held ceasefire negotiations in Washington, D.C., with their ambassadors to the United States acting as representatives, under the mediation of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.