After tense call, Netanyahu feared Trump would declare Lebanon ceasefire if PM didn’t announce talks

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a “tense” phone call with US President Donald Trump on Thursday, with the premier realizing at the end of the conversation that if he didn’t publicly express his readiness to launch peace talks with Lebanon, Trump would unilaterally announce a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, CNN reports.

It was at least the third phone call the pair had held this week, with Netanyahu using a Tuesday call to successfully lobby Trump against including Lebanon in the Iran ceasefire.

But Trump called Netanyahu again on Wednesday to express his alarm after Israel launched the largest wave of strikes in Lebanon since the beginning of the war, killing over 300 people, according to the Lebanese health ministry. Trump said afterward that he urged Netanyahu for a more “low-key” campaign against Hezbollah.

Still ostensibly unhappy on Thursday, Trump phoned Netanyahu again to discuss Lebanon.

Shortly after the call, Netanyahu announced that Israel would enter direct talks with Lebanon regarding a ceasefire with Hezbollah and a peace deal with Beirut, while stressing that strikes against the Iran-backed terror group would continue in the meantime.

Israel has refrained targeting Beirut over the past 24 hours, though.