Israel and Lebanon agree to 10-day ceasefire; Netanyahu says Israeli military will stay in southern Lebanon; Trump criticises Australia over Strait of Hormuz; diesel fuel en route to Australia after Geelong oil refinery fire

Washington: US President Donald Trump announced within hours that Israel and Lebanon will enter into a 10-day ceasefire in another potential step towards ending the broader conflict with Iran.

However, it was unclear how the ceasefire would work in practice, as Israel was fighting the Hezbollah terrorist organization rather than the Lebanese state.

Trump said he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Thursday (US time), following meetings between senior diplomats in Washington earlier in the week.

“These two leaders have agreed to officially initiate a 10-day ceasefire to ensure PEACE between their Countries,” Trump said in a statement on social media. he said. The ceasefire will begin at 5pm Washington time (7am AEST).

Israel continued to launch attacks on targets associated with Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militia group in Lebanon that is listed as a terrorist organization in Australia, the United States and elsewhere.

Read more from North America correspondent Michael Koziol here.