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US president says the leaders of the two countries will speak for the first time in 34 years on Thursday.
Published On 16 Apr 2026
United States President Donald Trump says the leaders of Israel and Lebanon will speak for the first time in 34 years on Thursday.
The announcement on Wednesday came a day after Israel and Lebanon’s envoys to the US held direct talks in Washington, DC, to discuss an end to Israeli attacks on its neighbour.
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“Trying to get a little breathing room between Israel and Lebanon,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“It has been a long time since the two leaders have spoken, like 34 years. It will happen tomorrow. Nice!”
Lebanon was drawn into the US and Israel’s war on Iran on March 2 after Tehran-aligned Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel.
Hezbollah said the attacks were in retaliation for Israel’s killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the first day of the war, on February 28, as well as Israel’s near-daily violations of a ceasefire it agreed to in Lebanon in November 2024.
Israel’s attacks on Lebanon since then have killed more than 2,000 people and displaced more than a million others. Israel’s military has also launched a ground invasion in southern Lebanon, seeking to seize more territory and create what it calls a “buffer zone”.
