Trump Presses Israel, Hezbollah Toward Fragile Ceasefire After Netanyahu Threatens Beirut Strikes

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief

(Worthy News) – President Donald Trump said Monday that Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to halt attacks after a day of rising tensions in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened renewed strikes on Hezbollah’s Dahiyeh stronghold in Beirut if the Iranian-backed terror group continued firing on northern Israel.

The breakthrough, if it holds, could mark a significant pause in the widening Lebanon front and may help preserve the Trump administration’s broader effort to keep U.S.-Iran talks from collapsing. But the arrangement appeared fragile from the start, with Netanyahu making clear that Israel’s restraint in Beirut depends on Hezbollah stopping its attacks against Israeli towns and civilians.

Earlier Monday, Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the Israel Defense Forces to prepare heavy strikes against Hezbollah targets in Beirut’s southern suburbs after a fresh wave of rocket attacks on northern Israel. Israeli officials said there could not be a situation in which Israeli civilians remained under fire while senior Hezbollah commanders continued to operate with effective immunity in Beirut.

By late afternoon, IDF Arabic spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee warned residents of Dahiyeh to evacuate if Hezbollah continued launching attacks, signaling that Israeli strikes could be imminent. But the planned operation was delayed amid intense U.S. pressure and warnings from Iran, which reportedly threatened to suspend ceasefire negotiations and escalate against Israel if Beirut was hit.

Trump then spoke with Netanyahu and later announced that there would be “no troops going to Beirut” and that any Israeli forces already moving in that direction had been turned back. Trump also said he had spoken through representatives with Hezbollah and that the group had agreed to stop shooting at Israel.

“Let’s see how long that lasts,” Trump said, adding that he hoped the halt would last “for eternity.”

The Lebanese Embassy in Washington said Hezbollah had accepted a U.S. proposal for a reciprocal cessation of attacks. Under the reported framework, Hezbollah would stop firing on Israel, while Israel would refrain from striking Beirut’s southern suburbs. Lebanese officials said they wanted the arrangement expanded to cover all Lebanese territory.

Nabih Berri, the speaker of Lebanon’s parliament and head of the Shiite Amal Movement, reportedly informed U.S. officials that Hezbollah was prepared to commit to a full ceasefire. His adviser, Ali Hamdan, said Berri questioned why the proposal should be limited to a partial arrangement when a comprehensive ceasefire could be pursued.

Still, Netanyahu’s public response suggested Israel was not prepared to give Hezbollah a sanctuary in Beirut while the North remained under threat.

“I told President Trump that if Hezbollah does not stop attacking our towns and citizens, Israel will strike terror targets in Beirut,” Netanyahu said, according to his office. He added that the IDF would continue operating as planned in southern Lebanon.

That position reflects Israel’s core concern: Hezbollah has long used Lebanon’s civilian areas, including Beirut’s southern suburbs, as command centers and military infrastructure hubs while launching attacks into Israel. For Jerusalem, any ceasefire that protects Beirut while allowing Hezbollah to fire on Israeli communities would be strategically unacceptable.

The U.S. push for de-escalation also comes as Washington tries to keep nuclear and ceasefire negotiations with Iran alive. Tehran has treated Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah as a major obstacle in talks with the Trump administration, and Iranian-linked reports on Monday suggested negotiations could be paused if Israel escalated in Lebanon.

The coming days will test whether Hezbollah’s pledge is real or simply another tactical pause. Israel has signaled it will give diplomacy a narrow window, but not at the cost of leaving its northern citizens exposed.

For now, Trump has claimed a diplomatic win, Netanyahu has preserved Israel’s right to strike, and Hezbollah has been placed under public pressure to stop firing. Whether that produces a genuine ceasefire — or merely delays the next round of conflict — remains uncertain.

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