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President Donald Trump announced Thursday that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a 10-day ceasefire beginning at 5 p.m. Eastern Time, in what he described as a major step toward ending weeks of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.Trump said he had spoken separately with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and that both sides had agreed to begin formal talks aimed at reaching a broader peace agreement."I just had excellent conversations with the Highly Respected President Joseph Aoun, of Lebanon, and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, of Israel," Trump wrote on Truth Social Thursday. Trump said he has directed Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan "Razin'" Caine to work with both sides to achieve what he called a "lasting peace."IDF UNCOVERS HEZBOLLAH WEAPONS STASH INSIDE HOSPITAL IN LEBANON Rescue workers search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit a crowded neighborhood south of Beirut, Lebanon, April 5, 2026. (Hussein Malla/AP Photo)The president later said he plans to invite Netanyahu and Aoun to the White House for what he described as the first meaningful talks between Israel and Lebanon since 1983."Both sides want to see PEACE, and I believe that will happen, quickly!" Trump wrote.The announcement came after days of intense U.S. diplomacy and appeared to resolve an earlier dispute over whether Aoun would speak directly with Netanyahu."We are trying to create a little breathing room," Trump wrote on Truth Social Wednesday, adding that the leaders of Israel and Lebanon had not spoken in some 34 years and saying, "It will happen tomorrow."Earlier Thursday, Lebanese officials had insisted that Aoun would not speak directly with Netanyahu before a ceasefire was reached.Three Lebanese officials told Reuters that Aoun had no plans to speak with Netanyahu in the near future, and two of the officials said Lebanon's embassy in Washington conveyed that position to the Trump administration before Aoun held a phone call with Rubio.A senior Lebanese official later told Fox News Digital that there was intense domestic pressure inside Lebanon against further contacts with Israel while the fighting continued.According to the official, many in Lebanon believed the government had already entered negotiations without receiving anything in return, making a ceasefire a prerequisite for any direct contact.But shortly afterward, Lebanon's presidency announced that Aoun had spoken directly with Trump.According to the Lebanese presidency's official X account, Aoun thanked Trump for his efforts to secure a ceasefire in Lebanon and achieve what it described as a lasting peace and stability that could pave the way for a broader regional peace process.Aoun, who served as commander of Lebanon's U.S.-backed armed forces before becoming president in 2025, said an Israeli withdrawal from southern Leban