10-day ceasefire in Lebanon holding through first night

A 10-day truce appeared to be holding in Lebanon early on Friday, promising a pause in fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group and possibly clearing one major obstacle to a deal between Iran and the United States and Israel to end weeks of devastating war.

But it remained unclear whether Israel would completely stop strikes on Hezbollah and whether the militant group would recognise a deal it did not play a role in negotiating and which will leave Israeli troops occupying a stretch of southern Lebanon.

Barrages of gunshots rang out across Beirut as people fired into the air just after midnight to celebrate the beginning of the truce, while displaced families began moving toward southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs despite warnings by officials not to attempt to return to their homes until it became clear whether the ceasefire would hold.

US President Donald Trump heralded the deal as a “historic day for Lebanon”, even as he expressed confidence that the war with Iran would soon end in a Las Vegas speech.

“I will say the war in Iran is going along swimmingly,” Mr Trump said. “It should be ending pretty soon.”

An end to Israel’s war with Hezbollah was a key demand of Iranian negotiators, who previously accused Israel of breaking the current ceasefire deal with strikes on Lebanon.

Israel said that the deal did not cover Lebanon.

Pakistan’s army chief met with Iran’s parliament speaker on Thursday as part of international efforts to press for an extension of the ceasefire.

Mr Trump announced the agreement as a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, but a Hezbollah official said the ceasefire was a result of negotiations between the US and Iran, which has insisted that Lebanon be included in its own ceasefire.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak publicly.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he agreed to the ceasefire “to advance” peace efforts with Lebanon, but he said Israeli troops would not withdraw.

Israeli forces have engaged in fierce battles with Hezbollah in the border area as they pushed into southern Lebanon to create what officials have called a “security zone”.

Mr Netanyahu, in his video address, said it will extend six miles into Lebanon.

“That is where we are, and we are not leaving,” he said.

The US State Department said that according to the agreement, Israel reserves the right to defend itself “at any time, against planned, imminent or ongoing attacks”.

But otherwise, Israel “will not carry out any offensive military operations against Lebanese targets, including civilian, military, and other state targets”.

Israel and Hezbollah have fought several wars and have been fighting on and off since the day after the start of the Gaza war.

Israel and Lebanon reached a deal to end that war in November 2024, but Israel has kept up near-daily strikes in what it says is an effort to prevent the Iran-backed militant group from regrouping.

That escalated into another invasion after Hezbollah again began firing missiles at Israel in response to its war on Iran.