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Trump predicted Israel-Lebanon leaders would speak ‘tomorrow’ — Beirut shut it down as ceasefire emerges
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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 Lebanon would be a necessary first step before Lebanese troops could fully deploy to the border region.
The diplomatic dispute comes as the White House presses for a broader deal to end the regional war that erupted after Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group entered the conflict March 2 in support of Iran.
Hezbollah’s intervention opened a new front in Lebanon just 15 months after the last major Israel-Hezbollah war.
Pakistan, which helped mediate the April 8 ceasefire between Israel and Iran, said ending the fighting in Lebanon is essential to preserving that agreement.
ISRAEL WARNS HEZBOLLAH ‘PLAYING WITH FIRE,’ PRESSES LEBANON TO ACT ON WEAPONS PLEDGE
A damaged building after an Israeli strike, following renewed hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Beirut, Lebanon, March 6, 2026. (Stringer/Reuters)
«Peace in Lebanon is essential for peace talks,» Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi said.
The Israeli security cabinet met late Wednesday to discuss a possible ceasefire in Lebanon, according to Israeli media.
Israeli officials have signaled openness to negotiations, but they are also insisting on continuing military operations until Hezbollah is pushed away from the border.
Israeli cabinet minister Gila Gamliel told Israeli media that Netanyahu had been expected to speak with Aoun «for the first time after so many years of no contact between the two countries.»
Israel and Lebanon remain formally at war and have had no direct leader-to-leader contact in decades.
The latest U.S. diplomatic push follows a rare meeting Tuesday in Washington between Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad and Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter.
Those talks, held at the State Department under U.S. mediation, marked the first face-to-face discussions between senior Israeli and Lebanese officials in more than three decades.
Still, the prospect of a direct call between Netanyahu and Aoun has run into strong opposition inside Lebanon.
Hezbollah, which has opposed any contact with Israel, remains publicly against negotiations.
At the same time, Lebanon’s government has increasingly distanced itself from Hezbollah since the terror group entered the war.
The Lebanese government formally banned Hezbollah’s military activities March 2 and has spent the past year trying to disarm the Iranian-backed group without triggering a broader civil conflict.
Meanwhile, fighting intensified Thursday in southern Lebanon.
IRAN THREATENS TO END CEASEFIRE OVER HEZBOLLAH’S EXCLUSION FROM TRUCE DEAL
In this photo released by the Lebanese Presidency press office, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, right, meets U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack, third left, U.S. deputy special presidential envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus, second left, and U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Lisa A. Johnson, left, at the presidential palace in Baabda, in east of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Aug. 18, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency Press Office/AP)
Battles continued around the border town of Bint Jbeil, Lebanon, a longtime stronghold of Hezbollah — an Iran-backed terror group — that Israeli officials see as a key objective in the current offensive.
Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israeli forces were close to «overcoming» Hezbollah in Bint Jbeil.
The Israeli military’s immediate objective is to push Hezbollah farther from the border and prevent anti-tank missiles and other direct-fire weapons from threatening northern Israeli communities, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said in an interview with Fox News Digital.
He said Israeli troops are now holding what the military calls «defense lines» several kilometers inside Lebanon, positions designed to keep Hezbollah gunmen and anti-tank squads from once again overlooking Israeli towns.
«We’re going to make sure we keep diminishing them,» Shoshani said.
Lebanese security officials also said an Israeli airstrike destroyed the last remaining bridge over the Litani River leading into southern Lebanon.
The strike effectively cut off nearly a tenth of the country from the rest of Lebanon after earlier Israeli attacks destroyed other crossings.
HEZBOLLAH, IRAN UNLEASH COORDINATED CLUSTER BOMB STRIKES ON ISRAEL IN MAJOR ESCALATION
Smoke billows after reported strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, as seen from Baabda, Lebanon, March 6, 2026. (Mohamed Azakir/Reuters)
Israel has vowed to turn the area south of the Litani River into a «no-go zone» for Hezbollah.
Israeli military chief of staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said Wednesday that Hezbollah operatives would no longer be allowed to operate south of the river.
The Litani River, which runs roughly 20 miles north of Israel’s border, has long been viewed by Israel as the line beyond which Hezbollah forces should not be allowed to operate.
Hezbollah responded Thursday with fresh rocket fire into northern Israel.
Warning sirens sounded in several Israeli communities, sending residents into bomb shelters. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
More than 2,100 people have been killed in Lebanon since March 2 and more than 1.2 million have been displaced, according to Lebanese authorities.
Israeli officials say Hezbollah attacks have killed two Israeli civilians and 13 Israeli soldiers during the same period.
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Hezbollah members salute and raise the group’s yellow flags during the funeral of their fallen comrades Ismail Baz and Mohamad Hussein Shohury, who were killed in an Israeli strike on their vehicles, in Shehabiya in south Lebanon April 17, 2024. (AFP via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital reached out to the State Department, Lebanon’s embassy in Washington and the Israeli government for comment, but did not receive responses in time for publication.
Reuters contributed to this report.
conflicts, lebanon, benjamin netanyahu, middle east foreign policy, israel, war with iran
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WATCH: Maryland Dems defend ‘big tent’ party as New York socialist surge fuels Dem divide
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Maryland Democrats rejected the idea that New York’s socialist surge in primary victories signals a broader Democratic divide, insisting the races are a reflection of individual districts rather than a national shift as the party looks ahead to the midterm elections.
«We have a big tent party, that’s what it says,» Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said when asked what New York’s election results mean for Democrats.
«This is a democracy,» he continued. «You’re going to have lots of perspectives. It’s up to the voters to decide, and they did.»
AOC ISSUES WARNING TO HER FELLOW DEMOCRATIC INCUMBENTS IN THE WAKE OF SOCIALISTS WINNING BIG IN NYC
DHS disputed Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s account of an ICE incident involving a migrant in Baltimore. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
The comments come after three far-left candidates won New York Democratic primaries, including two who defeated sitting Democratic incumbents, fueling debate over whether the victories signal growing influence and intraparty division heading into November’s midterms.
«I’m all about new leadership,» Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., told Fox News Digital when asked about New York’s election results.
Several Maryland Democrats argued the results reflected the unique politics of individual New York districts rather than a broader ideological shift within the Democratic Party.
«I think it’s very reflective of the district,» former U.S. Capitol Police Officer and former Maryland congressional candidate Harry Dunn said.
He continued, «I think we’ve got to be careful applying what happened in New York to everywhere around the country.»
WATCH: KELLYANNE CONWAY INSISTS SOCIALIST PRIMARY VICTORIES DON’T REFLECT AMERICAN VALUES NATIONWIDE
Former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn speaks during a protest outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on June 2, 2026, against President Donald Trump’s IRS settlement and the «Anti-Weaponization Fund.» (Kent Nishimura/AFP via Getty Images)
Other Maryland Democrats stressed the need to respect voters’ choices in their own districts, even when they disagree with the candidates who won.
«I don’t agree with all the things they’ve said,» Rep. Johnny Olszewski, D-Md., said about the socialist candidates in New York. «I don’t agree with all their positions, but I respect what the voters have done in New York. That’s not reflective of the entire country.»
«Every district determines who they want,» Rep. Kweisi Mfume, D-Md., said. «We may not like it. Some people didn’t want me in. So you have to respect what a district, a congressional district, does. It’s still the rule of the people.»
But as the party strives to regain control in Congress, some moderate Democrats have sought to distance themselves from socialism and the party’s leftward push.
Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville condemned some of the radical views of the newly nominated Democratic candidates, particularly Darializa Avila Chevalier — a member of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) — who ousted five-term Democrat Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y.
«She has attacked interracial relationships and the American flag. Lady, I ain’t in the same party as you. I’m sorry,» Carville said in an episode of his podcast, Politics War Room.
He continued, «Everybody’s always said, ‘No, no, we’re a coalition. We’re a big tent. And there’s some – there’s just some s— that I can’t be in the same tent with.»
JAMES CARVILLE SAYS SOCIALIST DEMOCRAT SHOULDN’T BE IN THE PARTY, CALLS HER VIEWS ‘A BRIDGE TOO FAR’
Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville claims Trump won’t be president next year. (Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for SCAD)
«I’m a capitalist, not a socialist,» Rep. Thomas Suozzi, D-N.Y., previously told Fox News Digital regarding his views on the New York Democratic candidates. «And I believe in safety, not lawlessness. And I’m proud of America. I’m not ashamed of America.»
Raskin, however, defended the progressivism within his party, arguing the new wave of socialism the Democratic Party is seeing is not consistent with traditional values held by socialists.
«When people say they’re socialists today, I don’t think that they believe in dialectical materialism and dictatorship of the proletariat and classical Marxian socialism,» Raskin said. «I think what they believe is much greater equality and reduction of all the class differences that have grown up under Trump and the plutocrats.»
Republicans have increasingly pointed to the Democratic Party’s move toward socialist principles as a crux in campaigning to hold both their control of the Senate and razor-thin majority in the House.
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Most Democratic lawmakers seem to be urging their party to focus on gaining control in Congress in the upcoming midterm elections, regardless of their feelings toward some of the ideology fueling new candidates within the party.
«In a perfect world, everybody should come together — Democratic socialists, moderates,» Dunn said. «Everybody should come together and work together to represent everybody and not just the people who elected them.»
democratic party, politics, midterm elections, state and local primaries, maryland
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Nearly 100 monkeys escape enclosure, invade neighborhoods as officials scramble to recapture them
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Nearly 100 monkeys ran loose through neighborhoods in central Thailand after escaping from a government-run enclosure overnight, prompting authorities to launch a large-scale effort to capture the animals.
Officials said nearly 100 monkeys broke through part of an enclosure at the Lopburi Municipality Animal Nursery.
The monkeys were being housed under the care of local authorities after being transferred from Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation. Workers were able to prevent more than 1,000 other monkeys at the facility from escaping.
MAN CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER, RELEASED AFTER ALLEGEDLY FORCING TODDLER INTO CROCODILE ENCLOSURE AT ZOO
Captured monkeys eat fruit during the annual Monkey Banquet at Lopburi Zoo in Lopburi, Thailand, on Nov. 24, 2024. Authorities launched a large-scale effort after nearly 100 monkeys escaped from a nearby government-run enclosure. (Anusak Laowilas/NurPhoto)
Provincial officials, wildlife authorities and municipal workers searched nearby residential areas Tuesday after the escape.
Authorities used food-baited cages to lure some of the escaped monkeys back into custody. Other monkeys, including some of the larger and more dominant macaques, had to be subdued with tranquilizer darts before they could be captured.
Crews repaired the damaged enclosure while officials continued efforts to recapture the escaped monkeys.
MAN CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER, RELEASED AFTER ALLEGEDLY FORCING TODDLER INTO CROCODILE ENCLOSURE AT ZOO
Monkeys wait to be fed inside an enclosure during the annual Monkey Banquet at Lopburi Zoo in Lopburi, Thailand, on Nov. 24, 2024. Authorities launched a large-scale operation after nearly 100 monkeys escaped from a municipal enclosure in the city. (Anusak Laowilas/NurPhoto)
Lopburi Gov. Weeraphong Ritrod said the damaged enclosure had been repaired and reinforced to help prevent additional escapes.
He said officials also plan to build a more secure, double-layer enclosure designed to keep dominant monkeys from breaking out in the future.
The governor said the province is also preparing to establish a foundation to help support food costs and improve the monkeys’ welfare.
FLORIDA WOMAN MAULED TO DEATH BY DOGS THAT HAD ALLEGEDLY TERRORIZED NEIGHBORHOOD, OWNER CHARGED IN KILLING
A captured monkey sits inside a cage during a sterilization program at the Monkey Hospital in Lopburi province, Thailand, on June 21, 2020. Officials have worked for years to manage Lopburi’s macaque population after the animals caused problems for residents and businesses. (Anusak Laowilas/NurPhoto)
Mayor Chamroen Salacheep said the monkeys may have escaped because of hunger, extreme heat, overcrowding or their natural instinct to roam.
He also apologized to residents affected by the incident and encouraged anyone whose property was damaged to report it so authorities could assess the damage and determine what assistance may be available.
Lopburi has long been known for its large population of free-roaming macaques.
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The monkeys have also caused problems for residents and businesses because of property damage and aggressive behavior. Authorities have worked in recent years to reduce the monkey population through sterilization programs and by relocating some animals to dedicated enclosures.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Lopburi Municipality and Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
thailand, world, asia world regions, mammals, endangered species environment world
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