Israel Strikes Hezbollah Targets After Four Israeli Soldiers Killed, Lebanon Airstrikes Reported

Israel said it struck Hezbollah targets across southern and eastern Lebanon in response to the killing of four Israeli soldiers, including a battalion commander in an attack on a tank in the Lebanese village of Kfar Tebnit.

The intensified fighting threatened the U.S.-Iran peace framework, and U.S. and Iranian officials postponed negotiations planned in Switzerland after the escalation.

Al Jazeera

The Lebanese health ministry reported Israeli airstrikes had killed at least 47 people in Lebanon since midnight, while Israel said four of its soldiers were killed, including a senior commander.

In the hours around the truce, Al Jazeera reported that Israel continued attacks on Lebanon after the new ceasefire with Hezbollah was reported, raising fears Tel Aviv was trying to wreck the fragile agreement tied to wider efforts to end Middle East hostilities.

NBC News said President Donald Trump told NBC News in a phone call Friday afternoon that he spoke with Israel and asked them to agree to a ceasefire, calling it "a positive".

Hezbollah’s position, as relayed by NBC News, was that it would abide by the ceasefire but that the Israelis were still firing and trying to move deeper into Lebanese territory.

Israel’s Ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, said Israel was “firmly committed to an immediate ceasefire” and has halted offensive operations, while Al Jazeera reported that Israel’s attacks continued almost immediately after the deadline.

Al Jazeera

Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun told U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio that a “comprehensive ceasefire” must serve as a “fundamental basis” for any direct negotiations with Israel, according to Al Jazeera.

At the UN, spokesperson Stephane Dujarric welcomed reports of a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, saying “we welcome such developments,” while also calling on the parties to cease hostilities and pursue dialogue.

Al Jazeera’s Heidi Pett, reporting from Tyre in Lebanon, said, “It doesn’t feel much like a ceasefire,” as residents questioned what the truce meant.

The ceasefire’s fragility fed directly into the fate of U.S.-Iran diplomacy, with NBC News saying the intensified strikes cast doubts on the deal to end the war and that Vice President JD Vance canceled his planned travel to Switzerland for the talks.

The Swiss foreign ministry confirmed early Friday that the planned talks would not take place, while Al Jazeera reported that the ceasefire was meant to stop escalation in Lebanon from derailing a broader push to turn the interim US-Iran agreement into a lasting regional peace deal.

CBS News reported that talks between the U.S. and Iran were called off after intense fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, and that Israel and the militant group later agreed to renew their ceasefire.

In Lebanon, the next round of Lebanese-Israeli talks was scheduled for June 23 to 25 in Washington, with the U.S. State Department saying the announcement came after Rubio and President Joseph Aoun spoke by phone.

Al Jazeera quoted Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem denouncing “the criminal Israeli war on Lebanon,” while CBS News reported that Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., Yechiel Leiter, said Israel must be “destroyed” Hezbollah in order for Lebanon to “prosper and enjoy democratic freedoms.”