The Vice President of the United States, JD Vance, announced this Thursday from the Oval Office of the White House the extension of the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon for an additional three weeks, attributing the achievement to the direct intervention of President Donald Trump.
"I believe this is a historic moment of great importance. We will extend the ceasefire for three weeks, which is already in effect between Israel and Lebanon. Of course, it would not have happened without the direct commitment of the President," Vance stated.
The announcement was made in the context of a second round of direct talks between Israeli and Lebanese envoys held this Thursday in Washington, with the participation of Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The Lebanese ambassador to the United States, Nada Moawad, and the Israeli ambassador Yechiel Leiter discussed both the extension of the cessation of hostilities and the possibility of expanding negotiations beyond the ambassadorial level.
Lebanon had initially proposed a one-month extension, in addition to demanding the cessation of Israeli demolitions in villages in the south of the country and the Israeli withdrawal from a self-declared buffer zone.
The original ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon was announced by Trump on April 16, with an initial duration of ten days, and was described as the first direct diplomatic contact between both parties in 34 years.
Trump negotiated that agreement with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, and it included the possibility of mutual extension if the negotiations progressed and Lebanon demonstrated effective sovereignty.
Israel retained under the terms of the agreement the right to self-defense against imminent threats from Hezbollah.
The conflict in Lebanon, which began on March 2, 2026, has resulted in more than 2,290 deaths in that country and 23 in Israel, according to data as of April 22.
The day before the announcement of the extension was the deadliest since the ceasefire began: at least five people, including a journalist, were killed in Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon.
Regional diplomacy is currently facing a highly complex situation: Trump announced on Wednesday the indefinite extension of a separate ceasefire with Iran to allow Tehran to formulate a "unified proposal," while the Iranian Revolutionary Guard fired that same day at a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
The United States also maintains a naval blockade of Iranian ports that costs Tehran approximately 500 million dollars daily.
The UN plans to present recommendations to the Security Council in June regarding a possible new way to extend the agreement between Israel and Lebanon, marking the next diplomatic milestone in this negotiation process.
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