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US president says the leaders of the two countries will speak for the first time in 34 years on Thursday.
Published On 16 Apr 2026
United States President Donald Trump says the leaders of Israel and Lebanon will speak for the first time in 34 years on Thursday.
The announcement on Wednesday came a day after Israel and Lebanon’s envoys to the US held direct talks in Washington, DC, to discuss an end to Israeli attacks on its neighbour.
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“Trying to get a little breathing room between Israel and Lebanon,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“It has been a long time since the two leaders have spoken, like 34 years. It will happen tomorrow. Nice!”
The US president did not specify who will be involved in the talks.
Lebanon was drawn into the US and Israel’s war on Iran on March 2 after Tehran-aligned Hezbollah resumed attacks on Israel.
Hezbollah said the attacks were in retaliation for Israel’s killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the first day of the war, on February 28, as well as Israel’s near-daily violations of a ceasefire it agreed to in Lebanon in November 2024.
Israeli attacks since March 2 have killed more than 2,000 people in Lebanon and displaced more than 1.2 million others. The Israeli military has also launched a ground invasion in southern Lebanon, seeking to seize more territory and create what it calls a “buffer zone”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday ordered the military to expand the invasion in southern Lebanon towards the east.
He said that Israel was pursuing negotiations with the Lebanese government alongside its military campaign against Hezbollah in hopes of disarming the armed group and achieving a “sustainable peace” with its northern neighbour.
The Lebanese government, which is not a party to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, is seeking a ceasefire and a withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon.
