A glitch in Trump's grand plan. Israel excludes Lebanon from ceasefire

Israel supports a two-week ceasefire with Iran, but it does not cover hostilities in Lebanon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Wednesday. This is the first official position of the Israeli government since the announcement of the agreement mediated by Pakistan.

“The two-week ceasefire does not cover Lebanon,” the statement emphasized. The document stated that Israel supports Washington's decision on the condition that Tehran “immediately opens the straits and halts all attacks on the United States, Israel and countries in the region.”

This statement contradicts that of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who helped negotiate the US-Iran deal. He stressed that the ceasefire “applies to all parties to the conflict, including their allies, and applies everywhere, including Lebanon.”

US President Donald Trump did not mention Lebanon in his message.

“Based on conversations with Prime Minister (of Pakistan – PAP) Shehbaz Sharif and Marshal Asim Munir, in which they asked me to suspend the sending of destructive forces to Iran this evening, provided that the Islamic Republic of Iran agrees to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend bombing and attacks on Iran for a period two weeks,” Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform on Tuesday night, Polish time.

Israel has been conducting an intense military campaign in southern Lebanon since the beginning of March, targeting the pro-Iranian Hezbollah group. According to data from the Lebanese Ministry of Health, at least 1,530 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since March 2, including 130 children, and approximately 1.2 million residents of southern Lebanon had to leave their homes. (PAP)

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