The United States brokered a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, effective midnight Beirut time on 17 April 2026, following a trilateral meeting led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio with Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors in Washington.
Rubio announced the agreement at 5 p.m. Eastern time on 16 April, stating that both parties had "committed in writing to observe a full cessation of hostilities." The State Department added one significant qualifier: Israel retains the right to strike Lebanon "in self-defense at any time" — a clause Hezbollah immediately called a "deliberate ambiguity designed to preserve the option of resumed strikes at will." A Hezbollah political official said the group would approach the truce "with caution and vigilance."
The ceasefire is the first formal pause in fighting on the Israel-Lebanon front since the broader U.S.-Iran war erupted on 28 February 2026, when American and Israeli forces launched coordinated strikes on Iranian military and nuclear infrastructure. Lebanon was drawn into the conflict within days as Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel; Israel responded with airstrikes across southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley. Lebanese authorities now report 2,196 civilians killed, 7,185 injured, and 1.2 million people displaced — more than one-fifth of Lebanon's population. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs described the situation as "a humanitarian catastrophe requiring immediate international response" in its 14 April 2026 assessment.
