
Israel agrees Lebanon ceasefire as U.S. pushes for deal
Clip: 4/16/2026 | 4m 33sVideo has Closed Captions
Israel agrees to 10-day ceasefire in Lebanon as U.S. pushes for broader peace deal
President Trump announced a ceasefire deal that would suspend fighting between Israel and Hezbollah for ten days. Hezbollah has not said whether it will abide by the ceasefire. Trump also says leaders from Israel and Lebanon are expected to meet soon in hopes of reaching a broader peace agreement. Stephanie Sy reports.
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Israel agrees Lebanon ceasefire as U.S. pushes for deal
Clip: 4/16/2026 | 4m 33sVideo has Closed Captions
President Trump announced a ceasefire deal that would suspend fighting between Israel and Hezbollah for ten days. Hezbollah has not said whether it will abide by the ceasefire. Trump also says leaders from Israel and Lebanon are expected to meet soon in hopes of reaching a broader peace agreement. Stephanie Sy reports.
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipAMNA NAWAZ: Welcome to the "News Hour."
President Trump announced a cease-fire deal today that would suspend fighting between Israel and Hezbollah for 10 days.
GEOFF BENNETT: Hezbollah has not said whether it will comply with the cease-fire, which took effect a short time ago.
President Trump also says leaders from Israel and Lebanon are expected to meet soon in hopes of reaching a broader peace agreement.
Our Stephanie Sy begins our coverage.
STEPHANIE SY: In cities across Southern Lebanon today, cries of anguish, at least four paramedics whose mission was saving lives suddenly stripped of their own by another Israeli attack on emergency personnel.
Early today, Israel bombed another town in Southern Lebanon, barely visible here, engulfed in plumes of smoke.
Another attack turned a critical bridge into rubble.
It was the last link for almost a tenth of Southern Lebanon to the rest of the country.
Hours later, President Donald Trump announced a cease-fire on social media and said he spoke to both the Israeli and Lebanese presidents.
DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: I had a great talk with both of them today.
They're going to be having a cease-fire.
And that will include Hezbollah.
STEPHANIE SY: He also announced a meeting between the nation's leaders.
DONALD TRUMP: It's very exciting.
I think we're going to have a deal where we're going to have a meeting, first time in 44 years, and Lebanon will be meeting with Israel.
And they're probably going to do it at the White House.
STEPHANIE SY: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a potential peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon a historic opportunity, but added Israeli forces will remain in Lebanon and that a potential peace deal must include the dismantling of Hezbollah.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, Israeli Prime Minister (through translator): To achieve this cease-fire, Hezbollah insisted on two conditions, first, that Israel must withdraw from all Lebanese territory back to the international border.
Second, a cease-fire based on the quiet-for-quiet model.
I agreed to neither of these.
STEPHANIE SY: Netanyahu also hinted at a long-term occupation of Southern Lebanon, describing a security zone that would stretch the length of the Israeli border.
"That is where we are, and we are not leaving," he said.
But in a statement to the "News Hour," Hezbollah said: "Any cease-fire must be comprehensive across all Lebanese territory and must not allow the Israeli enemy any freedom of movement.
Regarding Israeli presence, the existence of Israeli occupation on our land grants Lebanon and its people the right to resist it."
Hezbollah's major sponsor, Iran, still holds sway over a key strategic asset, the Strait of Hormuz, although Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth denied that was the case today.
PETE HEGSETH, U.S.
Defense Secretary: You can't control anything.
To be clear, threatening to shoot missiles and drones at ships, commercial ships, that are lawfully transiting international waters, that is not control.
That's piracy.
That's terrorism.
The United States Navy controls the traffic going in and out of the strait because we have real assets and real capabilities.
STEPHANIE SY: There are at least 800 ships stuck in the Persian Gulf right now, afraid to enter the volatile strait.
Despite that, President Trump sounded a note of optimism.
DONALD TRUMP: We have a very good relationship with Iran right now, as hard as it is to believe.
And I think it's a combination of about four weeks of bombing and a very powerful blockade.
The blockade is maybe more powerful than the bombing.
STEPHANIE SY: The U.S.
military is supplementing the blockade with active interdiction operations beyond the Middle East.
As the U.S.
unleashes what it calls Operation Economic Fury on Iran, American allies are also feeling the pain.
With oil supplies choked, the head of the International Energy Agency warned that Europe has -- quote -- "maybe" six weeks of jet fuel left.
FATIH BIROL, Executive Director, International Energy Agency: What is happening now is the largest energy crisis we have ever faced in the history.
It is a huge amount of oil which is vital for the global economy.
STEPHANIE SY: Tensions in the strait are pushing economies and the U.S.-Iran cease-fire to the brink.
For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Stephanie Sy.
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