The Israeli leadership was reportedly caught off guard when the US president demanded an end to airstrikes
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his advisers were caught off guard and “stunned” when US President Donald Trump said he would not allow Israel to conduct further strikes in Lebanon, Axios reports, citing two people familiar with the matter.
On Friday, Trump said the US had “prohibited” strikes in Lebanon as the ten-day ceasefire brokered by his administration between Israel and the Lebanese government took effect. According to Axios, Netanyahu was alarmed by the statement, after which Israeli officials sought clarification from Washington.
Under the agreement, Israel will halt offensive operations but reserve the right to “take all necessary measures in self-defense at any time against planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks.”
The armed group Hezbollah, which boycotted the talks, said Israel must stop all troop movements in southern Lebanon and return to positions held before the fighting erupted more than a month ago.
Israel began conducting airstrikes on Beirut and other cities and expanded its ‘security zone’ in southern Lebanon in early March, after Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in support of Iran. Tehran has since listed an end to Israeli operations in Lebanon as one of the conditions for its own peace deal with the US and Israel.
Nearly 2,200 people have been killed and 1.2 million displaced in Lebanon since early March, according to Lebanese officials.
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