Netanyahu: Israel has 'historic' opportunity for peace with Lebanon

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel has a "historic" opportunity to reach a peace agreement with Lebanon, as a 10-day ceasefire is set to take effect tonight at midnight, Report informs via The Times of Israel.

"We have an opportunity to reach a historic peace agreement with Lebanon," Netanyahu says in a prerecorded video statement, noting that US President Donald Trump intends to invite him and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to the White House to advance talks.

He says the opening comes after Israel "changed the balance of power in Lebanon," pointing to past operations such as the 2024 pager attack that targeted hundreds of Hezbollah operatives, the erosion of the group's rocket and missile arsenal, and the killing of its leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

He adds that Israel had received calls from Lebanon in the past month for direct talks "for the first time in over 40 years."

"I answered that call," Netanyahu says.

He says Israel agreed to a "temporary 10-day ceasefire" to try to move negotiations forward, but stressed that core demands remain unchanged: "The disarmament of Hezbollah" and "a sustainable peace – peace through strength."