Trump says Israel and Hezbollah have promised de-escalation

BEIRUT — After a particularly tense day in southern Lebanon, marked by continued Israeli strikes, and in Beirut, where the southern suburbs were again evacuated under threat of Israeli bombardments, and as Iran threatened to open "new fronts" if "red lines" were crossed, U.S. President Donald Trump said he spoke by phone on Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an effort aimed at curbing the escalation.

On Truth Social, Trump said he had a “very productive” phone call with Benjamin Netanyahu who committed not to send troops into Beirut, even as Israel threatened to attack the capital’s southern suburbs. He wrote that “There will be no troops in Beirut and all the troops that were on their way to Beirut have already turned back.” Trump also said he had a “very good” exchange with Hezbollah through intermediaries, adding that the group agreed “to stop all shooting.” “Israel will not attack them, and they will not attack Israel,” the U.S. president wrote.

The Israeli forces, who say they aim to “crush” pro-Iranian Hezbollah, have advanced into Lebanese territory further than at any point in more than 25 years and ordered the evacuation of Beirut’s southern suburbs on Monday, threatening to strike Hezbollah's stronghold.

This was followed by a statement from the Lebanese embassy in Washington, announcing that Hezbollah had agreed to an American proposal for a “mutual cessation of attacks” with Israel. “The Lebanese authorities have received confirmation of Hezbollah’s acceptance of the American proposal providing for a mutual cessation of attacks,” said a statement from the embassy released by the office of the Lebanese presidency. “Under the proposed arrangement, Israeli strikes on Dahiyeh [Beirut’s southern suburbs] would cease in exchange for Hezbollah’s commitment to refrain from launching attacks against Israel, with the cease-fire framework to be expanded to cover the entire Lebanese territory.”

Netanyahu, for his part, said he had told U.S. President Donald Trump that “if Hezbollah does not stop attacking our cities and citizens, Israel will strike terrorist targets in Beirut.” “That position remains unchanged,” he added. “At the same time, the Israeli army will continue to operate as planned in southern Lebanon.”

Meanwhile, Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah said that “a total cease-fire would constitute a precursor to the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the entire Lebanese territory.” He added, according to comments reported by Reuters: "We support a total cease-fire over the entire Lebanese territory.” Earlier, a source close to Hezbollah had told AFP that the group would not stop bombing northern Israel.

These developments come as political negotiations with Israel are set to be held in Washington on June 2 and 3. Amid the rapid military escalation and growing Israeli advances in the South, Lebanese-Israeli military-level negotiations took place last Friday at the Pentagon, under U.S. sponsorship, without achieving a breakthrough. Another meeting is scheduled to take place within the next two weeks.

In a separate message, also on Truth Social, Trump said that “talks are continuing at a rapid pace with the Islamic Republic of Iran.” The U.S. president’s statement contradicted that of Iran’s Tasnim news agency, which said Tehran had broken off indirect dialogue with Washington, notably because of the Israeli offensive in Lebanon. On Monday, while tensions between Israel and Hezbollah worsened in southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs were threatened with an Israeli strike, Tehran raised the stakes and mentioned the possibility of opening “new fronts” if its “red lines” are crossed.