10-day ceasefire in Lebanon begins as Israel agrees to U.S.-backed deal

BEIRUT — A tentative 10-day ceasefire was greeted with celebratory gunfire after the clocks hit midnight in Lebanon, as the U.S.-brokered deal that promised to halt Israeli strikes in the country went into force.

The ceasefire was announced early Thursday by President Donald Trump and confirmed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In a later video, Netanyahu said that Israel had an “opportunity to forge a historic peace agreement with Lebanon” but that Israeli forces would remain inside Lebanese territory in a “reinforced security buffer zone.”