By Sabiu Abdullahi
Israel and Hezbollah have accepted a ceasefire agreement expected to take effect on Friday after months of fighting along the Israel-Lebanon border.
A senior United States official confirmed the development on condition of anonymity. The official said the agreement followed fresh exchanges of fire between both sides earlier in the day.
“Hezbollah and Israel have agreed to a ceasefire,” the official said, noting that negotiators from the United States and Qatar helped broker the arrangement with support from Iran.
“We understand that after the exchange of fire earlier today, Israel and Hezbollah are now in a ceasefire,” the official added.
The agreement comes amid fears that the conflict could expand across the Middle East due to the involvement of Israel, Hezbollah, Iran and allied armed groups in the region.
The ceasefire also followed recent remarks by United States President Donald Trump, who urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to show caution in Lebanon.
Trump warned that continued Israeli military actions in Lebanon could affect wider diplomatic efforts linked to regional peace talks and negotiations involving Iran.
Although Trump stressed that he still maintained a good relationship with Netanyahu, he advised the Israeli leader to exercise restraint.
“I’ve had a great relationship with Bibi, but now Bibi has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon.”
Trump also spoke about Lebanon’s past status as a major centre for education and professional excellence in the Middle East.
“Lebanon used to be a great country. It was a country where you had professors, doctors, lawyers. The great intellect was in Lebanon. Now it’s just terrible.”
Reports indicated that Trump was unhappy after Israeli forces allegedly carried out strikes on Beirut shortly before a planned understanding between Washington and Tehran.
Despite the ceasefire deal with Hezbollah, Netanyahu defended Israel’s military operations against Iran and its allies. He insisted that the campaign had weakened Iran’s military capabilities and blocked what he described as a looming nuclear threat.
Speaking during a press conference on Monday night, Netanyahu said stopping Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons had remained his long-term objective.
“Dear citizens of Israel, for decades, I have been fighting against Iran’s efforts to arm itself with nuclear weapons. I can define it as my life’s mission,” Netanyahu said.
He also vowed that Israel would continue taking action against Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
“With an agreement, without an agreement – Iran will not have nuclear weapons. Not today, and not tomorrow. As long as I am the Prime Minister of Israel – this will not happen.”
Netanyahu dismissed criticism about Israel’s recent military operations and argued that the country had recorded major successes.
“I hear people asking: What have we achieved? And my response to them is: ‘What have we achieved?!’ We have fended off an immediate threat of annihilation,” he stated.
According to him, Israel and the United States carried out what he described as “the largest offensive air operation in Israel’s history.”
“We neutralised nuclear scientists, decapitated the leaders of the terror regime, pulverised nuclear facilities, destroyed missiles and the vast majority of the factories that produce them,” he said.
Regional and international observers are expected to monitor the ceasefire closely as diplomatic efforts continue to prevent further escalation in the Middle East.