By Bonface Mulyungi
US President Donald Trump has announced that Lebanon and Israel have agreed a 10-day ceasefire that will begin at 17:00 EST (22:00 BST).
In his post announcing the agreement of a ceasefire, Trump says he spoke with both Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
There is no mention in his statement of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon, with which Israel has been exchanging fire.
Here’s the US president’s statement in full:
“I just had excellent conversations with the highly respected President Joseph Aoun, of Lebanon, and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, of Israel.
“These two leaders have agreed that in order to achieve PEACE between their countries, they will formally begin a 10-day ceasefire at 5 P.M. EST.
“On Tuesday, the two countries met for the first time in 34 years here in Washington, D.C., with our great Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.
“I have directed Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Rubio, together with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Razin’ Caine, to work with Israel and Lebanon to achieve a lasting peace.
“It has been my honor to solve 9 wars across the world, and this will be my 10th, so let’s get it done! President Donald J. Trump”
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam says he welcomes a temporary ceasefire agreement with Israel, which he says Lebanon has demanded since the outbreak of the war.
He says he hopes the agreement will allow those have been displaced by the conflict to return to their homes.
Salam also praises international efforts towards reaching a ceasefire.
Meanwhile in Washington, the US House of Representatives has narrowly rejected a measure to halt President Donald Trump’s military action in Iran, a day after a similar measure failed in the Senate.
The House war powers resolution – failed in a narrow vote of 213-214 – was largely symbolic and would have been unlikely to survive an expected veto from the president. One lawmaker abstained from voting.
The lower chamber of Congress previously attempted to pass the measure and failed in early March.
Some lawmakers have clearly changed their minds in the weeks since the fighting began as the vote in March was 219-212.
Yesterday, when the Senate rejected a similar measure, some Republicans told reporters that if the war reaches 60 days, their thinking about congressional authorisation may shift.Members of the House appear to be in a similar boat.
Federal law requires congressional approval to continue military actions for more than 60 days. The US-Israel strikes began on 28 February.
