President Trump has signaled openness to a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, according to a U.S. official, even as Israel's security cabinet prepares to weigh the proposal this week.
The timing is delicate. Israel's government has not formally agreed to any truce, and the political calculus for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains uncertain. Yet the Trump administration's willingness to embrace a halt in hostilities could reshape the diplomatic landscape, particularly as Washington simultaneously pursues separate negotiations with Iran.
A U.S. official told Axios that Trump would "welcome and be happy with an end of hostilities as part of an agreement between Israel and Lebanon." The official stressed that the administration has not pressured Israel into seeking a ceasefire and that the Lebanon track remains officially distinct from Iran talks, though the two are increasingly intertwined in practice.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio convened a rare diplomatic meeting between Israeli and Lebanese representatives on Tuesday, where Lebanon's ambassador formally raised the ceasefire request. The encounter marked a significant step toward direct engagement, though Hezbollah has yet to signal its position on any deal.
Netanyahu had previously resisted Lebanese calls for direct dialogue until Trump intervened last week, urging him to step back from escalation. The Israeli military had been intensifying strikes on Lebanese territory, including a flurry of operations that continued even after the U.S. and Iran reached their own truce agreement.
Iran has claimed that its ceasefire with Washington explicitly covers Lebanon, and that ongoing Israeli operations violate that understanding. Both Israel and the U.S. reject this interpretation.
The diplomatic push comes as U.S. and Iranian negotiators report progress on a broader framework to end hostilities. Deescalating the Lebanon conflict would remove a significant obstacle to those negotiations, though all parties involved have publicly insisted they are not acting at Iran's direction.
Israel's security cabinet is expected to discuss the ceasefire proposal during a meeting scheduled for Wednesday night. No formal agreement has been reached, and the outcome remains uncertain as Netanyahu weighs political pressures at home against international pressure to de-escalate.
Author James Rodriguez: "Trump backing a ceasefire deal doesn't guarantee Netanyahu will take it, but it removes the biggest U.S. obstacle to talks that could reshape the region."
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