Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the Al-Hosh area near the coastal Lebanese city of Tyre on April 14, 2026. (AFP)
Israel and Lebanon extended a shaky ceasefire by three weeks, President Donald Trump said on April 23, as he met with ambassadors of the two countries and despite recent Israeli strikes in Lebanon.
"I think there's a very good chance of having peace. I think it should be an easy one," Trump told reporters on Thursday. The initial truce had been set to expire on April 26.
Trump also said he expected the Israeli and Lebanese leaders to meet with him over the next couple of weeks and voiced hope for a permanent peace deal this year.
The talks, previously planned at the State Department like the first round last week and to be led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, were shifted to the White House.
The two countries have been at war for decades and had not met so directly since 1993.
Israel launched a major attack on Lebanon, killing over 2,450 people and displacing one million, according to authorities, in response to fire by Hezbollah, which vowed to avenge Israel's killing of Iran's supreme leader.
The United States announced a 10-day truce shortly after the first meeting.
Following the announcement of the truce extension, Hezbollah said that it reserves the right to respond to any Israeli "aggressions" in Lebanon.
It came after Lebanon's leaders accused Israel of committing a war crime, after an airstrike killed a Lebanese journalist in the country's south.
Rescuers and the reporter's employer on April 22 confirmed the death of Amal Khalil, a 42-year-old journalist who worked for the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar.
The civil defence agency said she was killed in a strike on a house in the village of Al-Tiri.
"Israel deliberately targets journalists in order to conceal the truth about its crimes against Lebanon," President Joseph Aoun said in a statement denouncing "war crimes.”
An Israeli army spokesperson said "the incident is still under review.”
