Israel, Lebanon
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JERUSALEM/BEIRUT, April 17 (Reuters) - Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a U.S.-backed ceasefire in fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, a deal meant to enable broader U.S.-Iran negotiations but one that will see Israeli forces maintain positions deep inside southern Lebanon.
The Israeli leader routinely hails the close coordination between the US and Israel – between himself and Trump – but at key moments, Trump has boxed him in.
Most Israelis wanted the fight against Hezbollah to continue. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s critics say he is showing that he cannot, or will not, stand up to President Trump.
Iran declared that it would reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial sea traffic, which President Trump eagerly supported in a social media post. But Trump also declared that the U.S. blockade of Iran's ports could continue.
President Trump’s announcement of a ten-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon comes after Lebanon experienced its deadliest day of the conflict so far - what's become known as 'Black Wednesday'. More than 2,100 people have been killed since the conflict began, with more than a million displaced. Hugo Bachega reports from Beirut.
They grew up amid olive groves in southern Lebanon. The son of one married the other's daughter. Now they're living temporarily in a vacant building in central Beirut, displaced many times.
A truce took hold Friday between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah, providing relief on both sides of the border and an opening for Iran and the United States to reach a deal to end the wider war. The ceasefire appears to have led Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz,
Hezbollah politicians affirmed a “cautious commitment” to the 10-day cease-fire, which appeared to be holding on its first day. A truce could remove an obstacle in U.S.-Iran peace talks.