WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a 10-day ceasefire starting on Thursday, though there was no indication if Hezbollah was on board.Trump said the truce followed “excellent” conversations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, taking place two days after Israel and Lebanon held peace talks in Washington.
“These two Leaders have agreed that in order to achieve PEACE between their Countries, they will formally begin a 10 Day CEASEFIRE at 5 PM EST,” Trump said on his Truth Social network.Trump said he had directed US Vice-President J D Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and top US military officer Dan Caine to work with the two countries “to achieve a Lasting Peace.”“It has been my Honor to solve 9 Wars across the World, and this will be my 10th, so let’s, Get it Done!” said Trump, who launched the war on Iran alongside Israel on February 28.Hezbollah then pulled Lebanon into the Middle East war, firing rockets at Israel.Since then, Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed more than 2,000 people and displaced more than one million, and Israeli ground forces have invaded the country’s south.
Trump said late on Wednesday that Aoun and Netanyahu were due to speak on Thursday, but there was no confirmation that any such call had happened.Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said he “welcomes” US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 10-day ceasefire with Israel.Salam said he welcomes the ceasefire,
“which is a key Lebanese demand that we have pursued since the very first day of the war” between Hezbollah and Israel, after Trump announced the temporary truce following phone calls with the presidents of the two countries.“As I congratulate all Lebanese on this achievement, I pray for mercy upon the martyrs who have fallen, and I affirm my solidarity with their families,” Salam said, thanking a number of European and Arab states for their “efforts” to reach a ceasefire.European Commission president Ursula Von Der Leyen welcomed a 10-day ceasefire declared between Israel and Lebanon that was announced by US President Donald Trump.“
This is a relief, as this conflict has already claimed far too many lives,” von der Leyen wrote on X, adding that it must lead to “permanent peace”. “Europe will continue to call for the full respect of Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” she said.
UK government officials have drawn up contingency plans for possible food shortages caused by a scarcity of carbon dioxide if the Strait of Hormuz remains severely disrupted, a report said on Thursday.A secret government analysis envisaged shortages of CO2, which is critical to the food industry, unless Iran and the United States reach an agreement to open the vital waterway, The Times daily reported.Officials had been working through a “reasonable worst-case scenario” in an event code-named ‘Exercise Turnstone’, it said.That scenario was based on a situation in June with traffic through the strait still severely limited and no permanent peace deal in place. The food shortages were not expected to be critical.
Reacting to the report, business minister Peter Kyle said he hoped the public would be “reassured” that the government was “doing this work”.US-Israeli strikes launched against Iran on February 28 sparked Tehran’s retaliation, virtually closing the Strait.Shortages of CO2 could impact supplies of pork and chicken in many countries.
The gas is used in the slaughter of pigs and chickens.It is also used to boost the shelf life of salad, packaged meats and baked goods, the report said.Breweries could be hit as they use the gas to make drinks fizzy.But Kyle said supplies of the gas were “not a concern” for the UK at present.“If any of these things change, I will be upfront with the public about it in advance so that we can prepare,” he told Sky News.“But right now, people should go on as they are, enjoying beer, enjoying their meats, enjoying... salads,” he said.Kyle said he had previously mothballed a CO2-producing plant in Teesside in northeastern England in order to prevent it shutting down completely. — AFP
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