WASHINGTON — State Department officials announced Tuesday that the latest Middle East ceasefire is progressing smoothly, having successfully survived its first 41 rocket operations and the construction of eight new post-truce military outposts.

"We are seeing a major de-escalation effort in the form of persistent, daily combat operations," a US spokesperson said, defending the June 2 truce announcement. The spokesperson noted that the current agreement builds perfectly on the success of the April 16 ceasefire, which was immediately followed by the Israeli Prime Minister ordering deeper strikes into Lebanese territory to "dismantle terrorist infrastructure."

Both sides have reportedly found immense strategic value in the peace process. Hezbollah has utilized the rejection of "humiliating" deals to bolster its domestic political support as a resistance force, while Israeli forces have utilized the diplomatic cover to expand their footprint to a total of 40 military outposts in Gaza while maintaining air attacks in southern Lebanon.

"The diplomatic breakthrough is performing exactly as intended to keep our wider negotiations with Iran on track," said one official, reading closely from a prepared statement. "Both sides have successfully agreed to a framework that allows the exact same war to continue under a much more optimistic name."