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US President Donald Trump has announced a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, inviting the Israeli Prime Minister and the Lebanese President to the White House for high-level talks.
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00:09Good evening, big story coming in from West Asia.
00:12U.S. President Donald Trump has just announced a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.
00:19The President says this, he took to social media platform Truth Social to say,
00:27I just had excellent conversations with the highly respected President Joseph Aoun of Lebanon
00:34and Prime Minister P.V. Netanyahu of Israel.
00:38These two leaders have agreed that in order to achieve peace between their countries,
00:43they will formally begin a 10-day ceasefire starting 5 p.m. EST.
00:52On Tuesday, the two countries met for the first time in 34 years.
00:57In Washington, D.C. with our great Secretary of State Marco Rubio writes U.S. President Donald Trump.
01:03He then goes on to say, I have directed Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Rubio together
01:09with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Raisin came to work with Israel and Lebanon
01:16to achieve a lasting peace.
01:19It has been my honor, President Trump claims, to solve nine wars across the world
01:26and this will be my 10th, so let's get it done, unquote.
01:32Donald Trump says he's invited leaders both of Israel and Lebanon to White House
01:38for the country's first high-level talks, direct talks since 1983.
01:46Once again, he took to Truth Social to say, and I quote,
01:49In addition to the statement just issued, I will be inviting Prime Minister of Israel,
01:55Bibi Netanyahu and the President of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun, to the White House
02:00for the first meaningful talks between Israel and Lebanon since 1983, a very long time ago.
02:08Both sides want to see peace and I believe that will happen quickly.
02:14So, these are two messages that President Trump has just put out.
02:18In fact, senior Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadhala has also responded and reacted.
02:27Hassan Fadhala says that the group had been briefed on possible short-term ceasefire
02:34and the Hezbollah is making it very clear that this is a short-term, 10-day-long ceasefire.
02:39It starts on Thursday night.
02:42This, they were informed, as in Hezbollah were informed by Iran's ambassador to Beirut.
02:49He then went on to say that this is just for a 10-day period.
02:55U.S. President Donald Trump announced that a ceasefire would start at 5 p.m.
02:59U.S. Eastern Standard Time, on the East Coast time, 5 p.m., this comes into effect.
03:06Israel, incidentally, and this is also very significant, this is information that's coming in from Israel now.
03:11Israel has made it very clear there are no plans to withdraw its military from southern Lebanon
03:18during the announced 10-day ceasefire.
03:21Israel has about five divisions that are already inside the southern part of Lebanon
03:28and Israel wants to create a 10-kilometer-long buffer zone between the current border and south of Litani River.
03:35While this is beyond the UN ceasefire line, and I want to bring in India Today's Foreign Affairs Editor,
03:41Geeta Mohan, and my colleague Pranay Upadhyay, who's just back from the Israel-Lebanon border
03:47for more details on this big story.
03:49And I want to introduce our colleagues.
03:50Pranay, you're just back from there.
03:53A 10-day ceasefire.
03:54It will be a great sense of relief for the people of northern Israel and southern Lebanon.
04:04We have to see and decode it and decipher it because what does it bring?
04:10We have seen the Naim Qasim's statement two days ago,
04:13and he said the Lebanese government should not go for any ceasefire
04:16and they should not hold any direct talks with Israel.
04:18Also, you mentioned, you read about Iranian ambassador in Beirut,
04:22who has been declared persona non grata by the same Lebanese government.
04:27So, we have to see that who are they dealing with?
04:30Will Hezbollah accept this ceasefire?
04:32And what will change on ground as far as the southern Lebanese territory is concerned?
04:37Many people have displaced, they have left their homes there,
04:40and they are living as internally displaced people.
04:45And there is a large number of people, you know, population is there.
04:47So, let me also bring in Geeta Mohan because, Geeta,
04:50you've tracked this very closely and over decades.
04:54A ceasefire between these two warring countries.
04:58Israel has repeatedly actually gone into Lebanon,
05:01taken control of the territory, occupied parts of it, then withdrawn.
05:05This time, they say, we didn't start the war with Hezbollah.
05:102nd of March, it's the Hezbollah that targeted Israel.
05:13Now, we will clear and create a 10-kilometer-long buffer zone.
05:17Will Israel rethink the buffer zone or move ahead with a plan on a greater Israel,
05:23which is argued is their strategy?
05:25Well, buffer zone or greater Israel,
05:28the issue over here, Gaurav, is the fact that this is a sovereign nation you have entered
05:32and you wish to take over part of it.
05:34So, that is in violation and ultra-virus of many international laws and norms.
05:39Having said that, what was the 10th point of the 10-point proposal that Iran put?
05:43It was this.
05:45A ceasefire.
05:46A ceasefire that holds not just between Iran and Israel,
05:49but also between Hezbollah in Lebanon and Israel.
05:53And while the American administration, Trump, had said that we've accepted the 10-point proposal,
05:59it's workable, that 10-point proposal had Lebanon.
06:02Pete Hexed comes out and says that, well, the proposal did not have Lebanon,
06:06and Lebanon is not part of that entire agreement.
06:10The talks fail or are inconclusive.
06:13Asa Munir lands in Tehran.
06:15The conversations begin.
06:16And then this announcement.
06:18So, I think it's a big win for Iran because Iran made it very clear
06:21there's going to be no forward movement unless and until the 10th point,
06:25which is ceasefire, should hold on all fronts and not just between Israel and Iran.
06:29But if I may add, Gaurav, one thing.
06:31For Hamas, or will it only be with the Hezbollah as of now?
06:35Will it also bring in Houthi forces?
06:37Also, Gaurav, we have to see…
06:39They were not part of the proposal.
06:40The 10-point proposal had Lebanon very specific.
06:42But as far as the Lebanese, Lebanese, you know, ceasefire is concerned,
06:46the priority set by Israel is clear.
06:48They say that they want disarmament of, disarming Hezbollah.
06:52Will Hezbollah disarm?
06:54Will, can Lebanese army join Israeli army to disarm,
06:58which is a banned organization they have declared it about?
07:00The military wing is…
07:01No, but that remains a complicated, very checkered.
07:04Just coming into what Pranay was saying,
07:06that is part of the negotiations.
07:08The ceasefire was part of the precondition to the negotiations.
07:12So when negotiations happen, there will be an absolute red line
07:16that Israel and America will draw on Hezbollah being armed.
07:20And that's where the Lebanese government comes in
07:22because Lebanese government thinks very differently from Hezbollah.
07:26And that's the reason why Lebanon as a government has banned Hezbollah.
07:30You know, what is very interesting is, of course, they've banned Hezbollah,
07:33but banned Hezbollah from military activities for the benefit of our viewers,
07:37not from political activities.
07:38They're a party.
07:38They're a political party.
07:39They're a party there.
07:40They're operating.
07:42Hezbollah is not a foreign organization.
07:44It's a Lebanese organization.
07:45It's a Lebanese organization and it's a political party too.
07:48But it's a Raghavan force, which is the armed wing of Hezbollah.
07:51So the problem right now would be whether this ceasefire will hold
07:56when you have five divisions of the Israeli army
07:59that are deep inside southern Lebanon
08:01and they want to create that entire area
08:04all the way up to the Litani River.
08:06And every other day, Israel issues a notice,
08:09vacate this area.
08:101.2 million people have been displaced.
08:12Because also the ceasefire conversation is up in the air.
08:15Like you said, there are forces inside.
08:17So now if the ceasefire has to hold,
08:19Hezbollah will try pushing them out.
08:21And should that happen, there will be shots that will be fired.
08:24So I don't know how long.
08:25It's 10 days, a long period
08:27when we look at the history of Hezbollah and Israel.
08:30So let's see whether it holds
08:32because this is important
08:33for the conversations between Iran and America to take place.
08:37And that's actually the main story that we must focus on.
08:42Since Iran insisted,
08:44any forward movement with the United States of America
08:47towards a ceasefire that will hold
08:49has to include ceasefire with Lebanon.
08:54Or actually ceasefire with the Hezbollah
08:56because Lebanon and Hezbollah are not on the same page
08:59as you were reporting from there.
09:00Absolutely.
09:01They are not on the same page.
09:03Also, we have to see that
09:04how Hezbollah reacts to this thing.
09:07They have given credit to Iranian ambassador.
09:09I again repeat that thing.
09:11The person who has been declared person or non-granta.
09:13Give me a moment.
09:14I quickly want to now cut across to Israel.
09:16Joining us here on India today is Sharon Haskell.
09:19Sharon Haskell is Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
09:22for the State of Israel.
09:24She joins me for this conversation.
09:26Sharon Haskell, welcome.
09:28How do you look at this move?
09:30How significant is the ceasefire, Sharon?
09:33It's really important.
09:35Very, very important.
09:36Trump obviously is doing, you know,
09:39breaking the connections as well.
09:43The meeting yesterday between the ambassador of Israel
09:46and the Lebanese ambassador was very positive.
09:48And we knew that we're trying to pave a path towards peace.
09:52And the fact is, you know,
09:54and every sensible person can truly see that.
09:57Iran came with the intentions of destruction
09:59and annihilation of the State of Israel.
10:02We've defeated almost six of its army.
10:04And the result might even be peace.
10:07I mean, this is a good result for anyone that cares and loves
10:10our region, our area, our neighborhood.
10:13It's tough, yeah.
10:14But I do believe that during these 10 days of a ceasefire,
10:19that can actually give an opportunity to the Lebanese army
10:22to check whether they are capable of enforcing the ceasefire
10:27in regards to Hezbollah.
10:29Let me just remind you,
10:31the Lebanese president and prime minister
10:34ordered Hezbollah not to attack Israel.
10:38Hezbollah listened to the puppet master in Tehran
10:41instead of the Lebanese government
10:43because they are a terrorist army of Iran,
10:47not of Lebanon.
10:49And therefore, while the Lebanese government cannot enforce,
10:54we had no other choice
10:57but to go and protect our people,
11:00our community, our cities,
11:01who are being bombarded every single day
11:05by their rockets, by their missiles, and their drones.
11:08I really hope this succeeded.
11:10You really hope it succeeds.
11:13But in the past, in conversations,
11:15you've said, Ms. Haskell,
11:16that real ceasefire with Lebanon is only possible
11:19if and when Hezbollah is disarmed
11:22and there is no threat to Israel's northern borders.
11:26What specific and verifiable mechanisms
11:29can Israel put in place beyond these 10 days
11:32or even in these 10 days
11:34to ensure that Hezbollah is disarmed
11:36south of the Litani River?
11:38Look, the first thing,
11:40it's not just south of the Litani River.
11:42Don't forget,
11:43the whole neighborhood of the Dachia in Beirut
11:45is infested with those terrorist Hezbollah regime fanatics.
11:51And so if they are capable of even starting to enforce that
11:56in Beirut, the capital in that neighborhood,
11:59the Dachia,
12:00that's actually meaningful.
12:01And it starts to show a path of enforcement.
12:06And I have to say, you know, there's two things.
12:08There's the intention and then the actions.
12:11And we know the intention is there.
12:13We know that that's what they want.
12:15They want to kick the Iranians out.
12:17They declare the Iranian ambassador a persona non grata.
12:21He refuses to go.
12:23I mean, it's insane.
12:24Can you imagine kicking out an ambassador from India
12:28and he refused to evacuate and decides to stay?
12:32It's unheard of.
12:33And so, look, the intention is there.
12:37The president put uniforms the day Hezbollah attacked Israel
12:40and said that they declare war on Hezbollah.
12:42So we know that their intentions are honest.
12:45But unfortunately, during the last year,
12:48we were extremely disappointed because they failed the actions.
12:52Billions of dollars flew through the Beirut airport
12:55to reconstruct Hezbollah.
12:58And I'm talking, these are suitcases,
13:01massive suitcases with dollars inside
13:04that were transported from Iran to the hands of Hezbollah.
13:08There's many more things and actions that they can take.
13:11But I think this will give them a 10 days opportunity
13:13to show the actions as well and not just the intention.
13:18Sure.
13:19And you've blamed Iran.
13:20You've called Iran the puppet master.
13:22Behind Hezbollah's attacks on Israel.
13:25And especially when, as you mentioned,
13:26the Lebanese government had asked them not to target Israel.
13:30So if peace with Lebanon is possible
13:32only after either the Hezbollah is disarmed
13:36or Iran's militaries degraded,
13:38does that mean Israel does not see a short-term ceasefire
13:43without a broader regime change in Tehran
13:46for peace in your neighborhood?
13:48Look, like we've said before,
13:50the ceasefire with Iran had no connections
13:52to what had happened in Lebanon.
13:55And, you know, the Americans were very clear about it.
13:58We were very clear about it.
13:59And that's why we continued with our operation.
14:02Okay.
14:03And I think that this is actually a really good result.
14:06Maybe peace is possible.
14:08I wish for that.
14:09President Trump has said that maybe now Netanyahu
14:12and the president of Lebanon are going to meet.
14:14I mean, can you imagine that?
14:16That changes everything.
14:18And so, you know, Israel is a peace-loving nation.
14:23We want stability.
14:24We want a safe future for our children.
14:27But Hezbollah and Iran does not allow that.
14:31So if we can fight Iran out of our northern border
14:34and Lebanon can fight it out of its country
14:37because they've been occupying them,
14:39destroying the country,
14:40destroying its economy and its social fabric,
14:43they can do that.
14:44This means so much for stability and peace
14:47in our region, truly.
14:50So do you see a situation where the Lebanese government
14:53and the Lebanese armed forces
14:55and the Israeli armed forces can operate in tandem
14:59or have joint operations against the Hezbollah?
15:02Or is that not possible?
15:04It seems like, you know, if you would ask me a year ago,
15:07I would say, oh, there's not a chance.
15:09Not even a year ago, but two years ago.
15:12There would have been zero chances as well.
15:15And as much as this has been our dream,
15:17it seems like there's a path towards there.
15:20And I wish this path is to be open.
15:23But that will be judged only by the actions,
15:26not the words,
15:27but the actions of the Lebanese government
15:30and the Lebanese military.
15:32And they don't need to go down to the south of the Litani.
15:35I mean, we're, you know,
15:37we're not going to evacuate from there.
15:39There's a huge neighborhood
15:40with those fanatical terrorist Iranian militant
15:44in Beirut, in their capitals.
15:47And they pretty much can start from there as well.
15:50That's very interesting.
15:51You're saying that Israel will not evacuate
15:54from the southern part of Lebanon.
15:56But tell me this,
15:56how would you respond to those who say
15:58that this is a part of Israel's
16:00greater Israel dream?
16:02You know, getting on top of Golan Heights
16:04or taking a part of Syria,
16:06taking a part of Lebanon,
16:08taking a part of Hamas territory in Gaza.
16:12This is a greater Israel dream.
16:15This is such a massive load of,
16:19I won't say this word in your,
16:21this is full propaganda of those radical Islamists
16:25that seeks to create chaos and instability.
16:30I mean, you tell me,
16:32Israel in a peace agreement with Egypt
16:35have given up five times
16:38the size of the state of Israel.
16:41If you have this plan of a greater Israel,
16:44would you give up five times
16:47the size of your country?
16:49Okay.
16:49So there's people who have a mental disease
16:53of hating Jews.
16:55And no matter what will happen,
16:57there's going to make excuse
16:58why the Jews are to blame for it.
17:01Jews are to blame about communism.
17:03And now they blame Jews for capitalism as well.
17:07Jews should be thrown out of Europe,
17:09you know, 80 years ago.
17:11And today people are telling us,
17:13oh, you should go to Europe.
17:14Okay.
17:15You are the disease here
17:16and you are the disease there.
17:18Anti-Semitism is a mental disease,
17:22literally.
17:23And it just doesn't make any sense.
17:26And people who says that,
17:28it's part of a wider campaign,
17:30propaganda of hatred,
17:32of racism,
17:34and of attempts to create instability
17:37and to fulfill their own ideological goals.
17:40So I have over 30 seconds
17:42on this part of the show
17:43and I want to understand from you,
17:44do you think that this ceasefire
17:47is possible beyond 10 days?
17:49Will it lead to lasting peace?
17:51Or will, in your apprehension,
17:53are you apprehensive that Iran
17:55and Hezbollah will continue
17:57to target Israel?
17:58Gaurav, you see this?
18:01I sure hope so.
18:03Look, we only want peace
18:05and safety for our children.
18:07I know that's what Lebanese mother wants,
18:10that for their children as well.
18:12Okay.
18:12We didn't want that.
18:14Our cousins and friends
18:16and family members
18:17have been on uniforms for two years.
18:20I was a combat soldier.
18:22I know how difficult it is.
18:23We do not want war.
18:25And if we see real actions,
18:27like Israel has made huge concessions
18:30in the past, okay,
18:33this is the path
18:34that we will always choose.
18:37Where there's a path towards peace,
18:39Israel have always
18:41and will forever choose that path.
18:44Fair enough.
18:45So fingers crossed
18:46that peace prevails.
18:48Sharon Haskell,
18:49Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs
18:50from Tel Aviv
18:51for joining me here on India Today.
18:53Many thanks.
18:55Thank you very much.
18:56I also want to now
18:58quickly cut across to India Today's
19:00Ashraf Vani
19:01joining us with the latest.
19:03Ashraf was reporting
19:04from Lebanon
19:05at the height of this conflict.
19:07And Ashraf,
19:07is there hope
19:08that this 10-day ceasefire
19:11will lead to peace
19:13between Lebanon and Israel?
19:15And how will Hezbollah react to this?
19:18It does not seem so, Gaurav.
19:20Actually,
19:20there are 1.2 million
19:23displaced population.
19:26And those are,
19:27most of them are from the
19:28areas of the southern Lebanon,
19:30the villages near the Israeli border.
19:32Those villages
19:33had been already vanished
19:35and they had been bombed
19:37aggressively during the last 48 hours.
19:39Most of the villages
19:40have lost their shape
19:42and their infrastructure.
19:44And now the big question remains,
19:46is it possible
19:47that those villagers
19:48can return back
19:49to their villages?
19:51I'm getting reports
19:52from the Lebanon right now
19:53that some of the people
19:54have started their journey
19:55from Beirut,
19:56from the rehabilitation camps,
19:59from the displaced centers,
20:02and are moving in the cars
20:04towards the southern areas
20:06of the Lebanon,
20:07particularly in the Tyre city,
20:09in the Nakora city.
20:10Then it is to be seen,
20:11will they be able
20:13to be there
20:13and what will be
20:14the response of IDF
20:16which is on the ground,
20:19particularly in the most
20:20of the areas
20:20in the south of Lebanon.
20:21Will there be
20:22any kind of collateral damage
20:24or any kind of scuffle
20:26between these two parties?
20:29And so,
20:30And especially when they come
20:30face to face,
20:32you're absolutely right,
20:33Ashraf.
20:33Keep tracking that story.
20:34I will come back to you
20:35four more.
20:36Ashraf Vani,
20:36Geeta Mohan,
20:37and Pranayopadhyay.
20:38All our reporters
20:39who've reported
20:40from ground zero
20:42and give you a perspective
20:43of what's happening right now
20:45and the road ahead.
20:46We'll be tracking that story
20:47very closely.
20:48That is all we have for you
20:49on the news track
20:50this evening.
20:52Many thanks for watching.
20:53News and updates
20:53continue on India Today.
20:55Stay blessed.
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