President Donald Trump announced Thursday a three-week extension of the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire after hosting a second round of talks at the White House.

Trump said he plans to invite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to Washington “in the near future,” adding that the meeting went “very well.”

“The United States is going to work with Lebanon in order to help it protect itself from Hezbollah,” Trump wrote.

The meeting was attended by senior American, Israeli, and Lebanese officials, including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter, and Lebanese Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh, all of whom took part in the discussions hosted by Trump at the White House.

Speaking to reporters, Trump stressed that any US deal with Iran must block Tehran from funding Hezbollah and clarified that Israel may still act in self-defense during the ceasefire.

“Israel is going to have to defend itself if they are shot at… but they’re going to do it carefully, and they’ll be surgical,” he said.

The extension follows a prior 10-day truce brokered by the US earlier this month, after Hezbollah began attacking Israel and drawing Lebanon into the wider conflict tied to the US-Iran war.

Washington has pushed for direct talks between Jerusalem and Beirut — a rare development — while trying to avoid giving Iran influence over Lebanon.

Despite optimism, Hezbollah continues to wield major power in Lebanon, raising doubts about whether any agreement will hold.

Israel is demanding the terror group’s disarmament, while Lebanon is focused on maintaining the ceasefire and ending the IDF’s buffer zone in the south.

Aoun has so far avoided direct engagement with Netanyahu amid significant internal pressure in Lebanon, including threats from Hezbollah, complicating prospects for a breakthrough.

During the meeting, Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter urged negotiators to focus on Hezbollah rather than Israeli withdrawal.

“If we continue down that path, we are doomed to failure. And failure, friends, is not an option,” he said.

“I have no doubt that we will succeed in eliminating the Hezbollah menace and achieving peace between our two countries.”

Leiter emphasized Israel does not view Lebanon as the enemy.

“Israel wants peace with Lebanon and Israel wants security for its citizens,” he said. “We’re united with the Lebanese government in wanting to rid the country of this malign influence called Hezbollah.”

Hamadeh thanked Trump for “presiding over this historic moment,” but did not speak about peace with Israel.

“With your support, we can make Lebanon great again,” she added.

US officials said the extension creates space to pursue a “permanent peace.”

Trump also dismissed a Lebanese ban on contact with Israelis, saying, “I never heard of that, but… I’m pretty sure that’ll be ended very quickly.”

Asked if a deal could be reached this year, Trump said, “There’s a great chance.”