With U.S. mediation, Israel and Lebanon entered a 10-day cease-fire for the signing of a peace agreement.
The cease-fire officially took effect at 5 p.m. on the 16th, Eastern time (local time). In Korea time, that corresponds to 6 a.m. on the 17th.
Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that he had "excellent conversations with Lebanon President Joseph Aoun and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu," announcing the cease-fire. The two sides are expected to be invited to the White House soon to sign a peace agreement.
Earlier, on the 14th, the United States, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, also mediated cease-fire talks between the two countries in Washington, D.C.
As a result, the two countries, which have remained in a state of hostilities for about 78 years since Israel's founding in 1948, have entered a temporary breather.
However, given that Israel's recent large-scale military attacks on Lebanon targeted Hezbollah, a pro-Iran armed faction, uncertainty tied to Hezbollah's response is expected to continue.
In fact, Hezbollah specified in its first official commentary immediately after the cease-fire announcement that "no form of cease-fire agreement should allow Israel to enjoy freedom of action inside Lebanon." This conflicts with Israel's position that it will occupy strategic strongpoints inside Lebanon during the cease-fire, a point that could easily escalate into clashes.
Ibrahim al-Moussawi, a Lebanon Hezbollah lawmaker, said, "If Israel's hostile acts are comprehensively halted and Israel does not misuse this cease-fire as a means to carry out assassination operations, we will cautiously comply with the cease-fire."
Iran also expressed a positive response to the cease-fire news. In a statement issued under the name of its Spokesperson the same day, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said it "welcomes the cease-fire in Lebanon," while stressing that "ending the war in Lebanon was part of the cease-fire agreement between Iran and the United States."
Iran entered a two-week cease-fire with the United States on the 7th and protested Israel's attacks on Lebanon as a "violation of the cease-fire agreement," but Israel continued its offensive, hinting at the fall of Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon, a Hezbollah stronghold.