Trump says Israel and Hezbollah agree to halt hostilities, Lebanon invasion

United States President Donald Trump has declared that Israel and Hezbollah have agreed to stop fighting, offering hope to huge numbers of people in Lebanon who have been fleeing an Israeli onslaught.

Trump said on social media on Monday at 13:29 Eastern Time in the US (17:29 GMT) that during a call, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had pledged to halt a threatened invasion that would take troops to Beirut’s southern suburbs, while Hezbollah had also agreed to halt hostilities.

The US leader’s statement on social media came as Iranian officials had asserted that ceasefire talks could collapse due to Israel’s plan to escalate its invasion of Lebanon and increase strikes.

Trump said he had not been informed that Iran had paused negotiations, insisting “talks are continuing, at a rapid pace”.

“I had a very productive call with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, of Israel, and there will be no Troops going to Beirut, and any Troops that are on their way, have already been turned back,” Trump wrote.

“Likewise, through highly placed Representatives, I had a very good call with Hezbollah, and they agreed that all shooting will stop — That Israel will not attack them, and they will not attack Israel.”

The office of Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said shortly afterwards that under the proposed arrangement “Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs would cease in exchange for Hezbollah refraining from carrying out attacks against Israel”.

The ceasefire is intended to be expanded to cover all of Lebanon, it said, adding that it had received confirmation from Hezbollah that the armed group had agreed to the proposal for a mutual cessation of attacks.

However, Lebanon’s state news agency reported late on Monday that Israeli airstrikes were continuing across southern Lebanon, despite Trump’s ceasefire announcement. Al Jazeera was unable to immediately verify the report.

‘No calm’

Earlier on Monday, large numbers of people fled the Dahiyeh suburb in the south of the Lebanese capital, where Hezbollah enjoys wide support, after Israel’s government ordered strikes on the area.

The orders given to the Israeli military to attack Beirut’s southern suburbs came a day after the army reached its deepest incursion point in Lebanon in more than a quarter of a century.

Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr, reporting from southern Beirut, said many people had started packing their belongings immediately after the attack orders were announced by the Israeli government on Monday morning.

“At approximately 07:00 GMT, the Israeli prime minister and the Israeli defence minister issued a joint statement, saying that they ordered the Israeli army to target Beirut’s southern suburbs, and immediately after that, people started packing whatever they could, and making their way out of these neighbourhoods,” she said.

“There are not many places left to go as government-run shelters are already full, and many people will stay in their cars, waiting to see what will happen.”

Israel’s defence minister said in a separate statement on Monday that there would be “no calm in Beirut” if Hezbollah attacks continued, and vowed to establish a military-controlled zone in the area of south Lebanon’s Litani River.

“The Dahiyeh in Beirut is no different from the communities in northern Israel – if there is no calm in the north, there will be no calm in Beirut,” Israel Katz said in a statement released by his office, referring to the southern suburb of Beirut and Hezbollah stronghold where he had earlier on Monday ordered strikes.

“At the same time, the [Israeli army] continues to operate with fire and manoeuvre against Hezbollah terrorists and infrastructure in Lebanon… in order to push threats away from [army] forces and from the residents of the State of Israel, and to turn the Litani area into a zone under [army] security control, free of weapons and terrorists.”

Israel’s military took over the medieval Beaufort Castle just north of the Litani River in southern Lebanon on Sunday as it conducted its deepest push into the country in decades.

Israeli PM Netanyahu, who promised to push deeper into Lebanon and called Sunday’s operation a “dramatic shift” in the campaign against Hezbollah, ordered the military on Monday to attack targets in ⁠⁠Beirut’s southern suburbs.

New US proposal

The Israeli order came despite a proposal put forward by Washington to de-escalate hostilities in Lebanon, a United States official has told Al Jazeera, adding that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has held separate talks with Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.

The US official said on Sunday that under the proposed “roadmap”, Hezbollah would halt all attacks on Israel in exchange for Israel refraining from further escalation in Beirut.

The US proposal aims to create a conducive environment for a gradual de-escalation and a complete, comprehensive cessation of all hostilities, the official added.

The US official placed responsibility for the current round of fighting on Hezbollah and accused it of following Iran’s directives without regard for Lebanese interests.

Iran, the official added, was prolonging the conflict in Lebanon to position itself as a mediator.

“The quickest way to protect civilians and reduce escalation is for Hezbollah to cease fire immediately,” the official said, adding that Washington does not expect Israel to tolerate continued attacks on its civilians.

Meanwhile, in a video statement released after the Israeli military took Beaufort Castle on Sunday, Netanyahu said about the castle his country held more than 25 years ago: “We have returned united, determined and stronger than ever.”

“Now my directive is to deepen and expand our hold in places that were under Hezbollah’s control. The capture of Beaufort is a dramatic stage and a dramatic shift in the policy we are leading,” he said.

Israeli forces used Beaufort Castle, also known as Qalaat al-Shaqif, as a base during their two-decade occupation of southern Lebanon that ended in 2000.

More than one million people have been forcibly displaced across Lebanon since the fighting between Hezbollah and Israel escalated on March 2.

A “ceasefire” to halt the fighting was announced on April 17, but has not been observed.

Both sides accuse each other of violating the ceasefire and justify their attacks by pointing to the other’s alleged breaches, with Israel breaking the truce on an almost daily basis.

Israeli forces killed at least 12 people and wounded 35 in more than 36 attacks across southern Lebanon on Sunday alone, according to an Al Jazeera tally.

According to the latest figures from the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, more than 3,412 people have been killed and 10,269 wounded in Israeli attacks since March 2.

Widespread condemnation

Countries across the world have slammed Israel’s escalation of its offensive on Lebanon.

French President Emmanuel Macron said “nothing justifies” it.

United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper called on Israel to halt its military activity in Lebanon, saying its escalation had “eroded space for diplomacy”.

Qatar condemned Israel’s continuing attacks on Lebanon and the expansion of its ground offensive in the south, describing the campaign as a serious escalation and violation of international law.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty affirmed Cairo’s solidarity with Lebanon in a phone call with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. He also called for Israel’s withdrawal from all Lebanese territory.