Trump Says US Spoke With Hezbollah 'For the First Time Ever' Amid Lebanon Ceasefire Push: 'We Didn't Know They Spoke'

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the United States had spoken with Hezbollah "for the first time ever" as his administration pushed for a renewed ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, comments that underscored Washington's growing effort to prevent the conflict from expanding into a broader regional war.

"We actually spoke with Hezbollah for the first time ever. We didn't know they spoke," Trump told reporters at the White House, adding that the group had agreed to stop firing on Israel while Israel would also halt attacks on Lebanon.

The comments came as the US announced a new framework between Israel and Lebanon aimed at renewing a fragile ceasefire and establishing "pilot zones" in southern Lebanon where Hezbollah operatives would be barred.

The agreement, reached after a fourth round of US-mediated talks in Washington, was contingent on "a complete cessation" of Hezbollah attacks and the withdrawal of the group's fighters from territory between the Israeli border and the Litani River, according to a joint statement cited by the BBC on Thursday.

Trump suggested the Hezbollah discussions were tied to wider US efforts to stabilize the region while negotiations with Iran continue. "I'd like to separate it," Trump said when asked whether progress with Iran could continue while fighting persisted in Lebanon. "Because it is separate."

However, Hezbollah officials quickly cast doubt on the viability of the arrangement. Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem later rejected the framework outright, saying the group would not stop fighting while Israeli forces remained in southern Lebanon. "The resistance will continue as long as the occupation remains," he said in a televised speech reported by The New Arab.

Reports in Lebanese media also disputed Trump's characterization of direct contact with Hezbollah, saying the discussions were conducted through an aide to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Hezbollah's closest political ally and a longtime intermediary between the group and the Lebanese state.

The renewed diplomatic push comes amid continuing violence. Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon reportedly killed several people Wednesday and Thursday, while Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel. Lebanese officials say more than 3,500 people have been killed in Lebanon since fighting escalated in March, while the UN estimates more than one million people have been displaced.