Trump Lifts Lebanon Flight Ban and Announces Netanyahu Visit

President Donald Trump hosted Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the White House on Tuesday to discuss the end of hostilities between Lebanon and Israel. Trump announced the immediate lifting of the ban on U.S. flights to Lebanon as part of a peace effort. He also stated that Israel has begun withdrawing forces from southern Lebanon under a Trilateral Framework Agreement between the United States, Israel, and Lebanon. A full Israeli withdrawal remains contingent upon the Lebanese Armed Forces removing Hezbollah from the region.

During the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, Trump confirmed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit Washington next week. Netanyahu is scheduled to arrive Monday and meet with Trump on Tuesday, while also attending the funeral of former U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham.

These diplomatic movements occur as a U.S.-Israeli war against Iran enters its fifth month following the collapse of a ceasefire and a Memorandum of Understanding between Washington and Tehran. While the Trump administration mediates the transfer of southern Lebanese territories to the Lebanese military, critics maintain that Lebanon's sovereignty is still compromised by Hezbollah's role as a state within a state.