Israel and Lebanon agree to extend ceasefire by 45 days

Donald Trump
US President Donald Trump declared a ceasefire after meeting Israeli and Lebanese representatives. -EPA

Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a 45-day ‌extension of a ceasefire US President Donald Trump ‌declared in April, the US State Department says.

"The April 16 cessation of hostilities will be extended by 45 days to ‌enable further ‌progress," ⁠State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said.

The State ​Department cast Israel-Lebanon talks - held in Washington DC on Thursday and Friday - as "highly productive" and said the countries would reconvene negotiations on June 2 and June ⁠3.

This week's talks ‌were ​the sides' third meeting since Israel intensified air ​attacks on Lebanon ‌after Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel on ​March 2, three days into the US-Israeli war on Iran. 

Israel had widened its ​ground ​invasion into Lebanon's south ​last month.

Fought in parallel ‌to the US-Iran conflict, Israel's war in Lebanon has rumbled on since Trump declared a ceasefire on April 16 although ​hostilities have largely been contained to southern ​Lebanon since then.