President Trump on Thursday announced a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.

“I just had excellent conversations with the Highly Respected President Joseph Aoun, of Lebanon, and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, of Israel. These two Leaders have agreed that in order to achieve PEACE between their Countries, they will formally begin a 10 Day CEASEFIRE at 5 P.M. EST,” Trump said.

“On Tuesday, the two Countries met for the first time in 34 years here in Washington, D.C., with our Great Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. I have directed Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Rubio, together with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Razin’ Caine, to work with Israel and Lebanon to achieve a Lasting PEACE. It has been my Honor to solve 9 Wars across the World, and this will be my 10th, so let’s, GET IT DONE!” he continued.

More from the Associated Press:

During the fragile ceasefire with Iran, fighting has continued in Lebanon between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

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Trump had announced that the leaders of Israel and Lebanon would speak about halting the fighting. If that were to occur, it would be the first direct conversation between the leaders of the two countries in more than 30 years.

But at one point Thursday, Aoun refused to speak to Netanyahu, a government official familiar with the developments told The Associated Press.

The government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said the remarks were made during a call with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and that Washington “understands Lebanon’s position.”

Washington has not publicly stated its support of a ceasefire as a precondition, and the Israeli government has framed the talks as peace negotiations with a focus on disarming Hezbollah.

Israel and Hezbollah exchanged fire across the border, with Hezbollah targeting towns in northern Israel with rockets and drones. Israeli fire against southern Lebanon intensified, especially around the cities of Tyre, Nabatieh and the strategic town of Bint Jbeil near the border with Israel.

Israel and Lebanon have technically been at war since Israel was established in 1948, and Lebanon remains deeply divided over diplomatic engagement with Israel.

“In addition to the statement just issued, I will be inviting the Prime Minister of Israel, Bibi Netanyahu, and the President of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun, to the White House for the first meaningful talks between Israel and Lebanon since 1983, a very long time ago. Both sides want to see PEACE, and I believe that will happen, quickly!” Trump said.

“The Lebanese people are victims of Hezbollah. The Lebanese people are victims of Iranian aggression,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.

“This is a process, not an event. This is more than just one day, this will take time,” he added.

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CNBC noted:

The developments add to growing hopes of a deal to end the Middle East war, which the U.S. and Israel launched against Iran on Feb. 28.

Israel’s heavy military strikes on Lebanon last week spurred accusations from Iran that its own                       fragile two-week ceasefire had already been violated. Despite U.S.-Iran peace negotiations ending                   without a deal over the weekend, Trump said this week that the war “very close to over,” while the                 White House projects optimism about “the prospects of a deal.”

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