How Trump achieved a presidential first before partial ceasefire announcement

US President Donald Trump announced a partial ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel on Monday, in what would amount to a limited de-escalation of a conflict that has killed thousands of people.

According to Lebanon’s embassy in Washington, the agreement would not end the conflict, but it does call for Israel to refrain from strikes on Beirut and its suburbs controlled by Hezbollah, while the Iran-aligned group would halt its attacks on Israel.

Hostilities in southern Lebanon, which Israel invaded in March, continued on Monday evening. Early on Tuesday, the Israeli military said that it intercepted two projectiles that crossed from Lebanon into northern Israel. No injuries were reported.

Why is this agreement significant?

When announcing the ceasefire, Trump said Hezbollah, through intermediaries, had ​pledged not ⁠to attack Israel. No US president has ever spoken with Hezbollah, with or without intermediaries. The US has designated the group as a terrorist organization.

Trump also said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to pull back any troops preparing to attack ⁠Beirut.

“I had a very productive call with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, of Israel, and there will be no Troops going to Beirut, and any Troops that are on their way, have already been turned back,” the US president wrote on Truth Social.

“Likewise, through highly placed Representatives, I had a very good call with Hezbollah, and they agreed that all shooting will stop – That Israel will not attack them, and they will not attack Israel.”

Does Israel plan to stick to the agreement?

After Trump’s announcement, Netanyahu said Israel would continue military operations in southern Lebanon, where ground forces are pushing toward the Zaharani River, ​their deepest incursion ⁠in Lebanon in 25 years.

The Israeli leader ordered strikes on targets in Beirut’s southern suburbs in response to rocket and drone attacks by Hezbollah.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah ‌said the militia would support a full ceasefire across all Lebanon as a precursor to the withdrawal of Israeli troops. He did not say whether the group would stop its strikes on Israeli territory.

Hezbollah said it had launched three attacks at Israeli tanks and soldiers near two villages in northern Israel, using drones and artillery shells.

Lebanon said it would seek to expand the ceasefire in talks with Israel in ‌Washington on Wednesday. That could clear the path for renewed efforts to end ‌the three-month-old war that began as a broader offshoot of the US and Israeli war on Iran.

I spoke to President Trump on the phone last hour about the end of negotiations with the Iranians. He told me: “I don’t care if they’re over, honestly. I really don’t care. I couldn’t care less. If they’re over, they’re over. If they’re not, you know, I think they took too much…

— Eamon Javers (@EamonJavers) June 1, 2026

Why is Iran threatening to break off peace talks with the US?

Iranian state media said earlier on Monday that Tehran was halting indirect peace negotiations with the US and might end a ceasefire that has largely held since early April.

There was no direct confirmation of the reports from Iranian officials, and Trump told US TV network NBC that he had not heard from Iran. He then said ‌in a CNBC interview on Monday that the peace talks had “started to get very boring” and that he did not ​care if they were over.

“I really don’t care, I couldn’t care less,” Trump said.

Since mid-March, Trump has repeatedly said ‌he is close to signing a peace agreement but has yet ⁠to do so. Despite the ceasefire, Iran and the US have exchanged strikes several times over the past week.

With input from Reuters