Trump Announces Ceasefire with Lebanon, Israel's Cabinet Furious!
The ministers in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet are furious. They feel left out of a major decision: the announcement of a ceasefire with Lebanon, which was instead first delivered by US President Donald Trump.
According to detikNews on Friday (17/4/2026), Netanyahu only informed his security cabinet about the ceasefire via a phone call on Thursday (16/4), without holding a vote as is customary.
Israeli local media Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Netanyahu’s phone call lasted only a few minutes and was limited to providing information to the ministers regarding the decision. The report also stated that Netanyahu said the ceasefire would take effect from Thursday (16/4) midnight at Trump’s request, while Israeli forces would remain in their positions.
Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the Israeli ministers were “angry” because they were not informed beforehand about Trump’s announcement.
Meanwhile, Israeli local television report KAN stated that Netanyahu did not have time to provide detailed briefings to his cabinet regarding the ceasefire.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid strongly criticised the policy. “This is not the first time this government’s promises have failed in reality,” Lapid said in a statement via social media X.
Criticism was also voiced by another opposition figure, Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the Yisrael Beiteinu Party. “The ceasefire in Lebanon is a betrayal of the residents in northern Israel,” he said.
Trump’s Announcement
Trump, on Thursday (16/4) morning US time, announced a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, starting at midnight local time in both Tel Aviv and Beirut.
“I just had an extraordinary conversation with the highly respected President Joseph Aoun of Lebanon and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu of Israel. These two leaders have agreed that to achieve peace between their countries, they will officially begin a 10-day ceasefire at 5:00 PM EST,” Trump said in an announcement via Truth Social.
The announcement followed rare direct talks between the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors in Washington DC, mediated by the US, on Tuesday (14/4).
Lebanon has been drawn into the Middle East war since 2 March, after the Iran-backed Hezbollah group launched attacks against Israel.
Since then, a series of Israeli airstrikes have reportedly killed more than 2,000 people and caused over one million people to flee in Lebanon. Israel has also deployed ground forces to southern Lebanon, near the border between the two countries.