Israeli occupation army kills three people in Lebanon despite US–Iran agreement

Ahram Online , Thursday 18 Jun 2026

Israeli strikes in south Lebanon killed three people on Thursday, according to Lebanese state media, just hours after the United States and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding stipulating the cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon.

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Israeli Merkava tanks driving along a road past destroyed buildings in southern Lebanon. AFP

 

“An enemy drone targeted a car” in the Kfar Tebnit area, killing two people, the official National News Agency (NNA) reported, raising an earlier toll of one dead.

In the neighbouring village of Zebdine, another Israeli drone killed one more person, NNA said.

Earlier on Thursday, the Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) reported that one person was killed and another injured after a vehicle was struck near the Kfar Tibnit–Arnoun roundabout in the Nabatieh district, in the first Israeli attack recorded since the announcement of the US–Iran agreement.

An Al Jazeera correspondent also reported that an Israeli drone carried out a separate strike on the town of Hadatha in the Bint Jbeil district in southern Lebanon.

Since the start of its expanded attacks in Lebanon on 2 March, the Israeli occupation army has killed 3,884 people and injured 11,856, according to figures from the Lebanese Ministry of Health. More than one million people have also been displaced.

The strike came as attention remains focused on the implications of the US–Iran memorandum of understanding, which was signed electronically by US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the agreement aims to end the war between Washington and Tehran and halt fighting across related regional fronts, including Lebanon.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi previously said that ending the Israeli war in Lebanon is an integral part of the agreement, adding that it also includes provisions for an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory.

Since the announcement of the agreement, the intensity of Israeli attacks has reportedly declined but not stopped entirely, with Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon continuing to cause casualties in recent days.

Separately, the Israeli occupation announced that one of its soldiers was killed and seven others were injured during operations in southern Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Israeli media outlet Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the Israeli military is facing uncertainty over political directives and the future deployment of its forces in southern Lebanon following the US–Iran understanding.

The report comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not publicly abandoned his schemes to maintain the occupation of Lebanese territories.

Divisions in Lebanon
 

On Wednesday, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem on Wednesday urged Lebanese authorities to take advantage of a "pivotal" moment following a US-Iran deal to end the Middle East war, ahead of Israeli-Lebanese negotiations next week.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun instead insisted his country's negotiations with Israel in Washington were independent of the regional deal.

In a televised address, Qassem hailed the deal as a "great victory" for Iran, thanking his group's backer for "linking the Lebanese arena" to the accord and "forcing Israel to stop its aggression" on the country.

Israeli strikes on the south had killed at least five people since then, according to state media, which also reported Israeli raids on south Lebanon on Wednesday.

Qassem urged Lebanon to take advantage of "this pivotal point following the agreement... to achieve the expulsion of Israel" from Lebanese territory.

Hezbollah has urged authorities to abandon the direct talks and has rejected a Lebanese government decision to disarm the group.

President Aoun instead said "the assurances we have received, and what we insist on, is that Lebanon's path in the negotiations is independent, though we are certainly for a ceasefire and for any country that helps us, including Iran," according to a statement from his office.

"Interference in Lebanese affairs is not permitted," he added.

Aoun expressed hope that next week's fifth round of talks "will be more positive, particularly considering the US administration's great interest in Lebanon".

"The Lebanese state is sovereign in its decision-making, and for the first time, it is the one conducting the negotiations, and nobody is negotiating for us," he said.

"I reassure the Lebanese that nobody is tying us to any other country, and any settlement will be through us, not at our expense," he added.

Qassem urged Lebanese authorities not to "agree with Israel on its demands, interfering in our internal affairs".

"Everything linked to organizing our domestic situation, whether the issue of weapons or the economy, or the national security strategy or defence strategy... it all must be completely outside the negotiations. This we discuss internally," he said.

"In any negotiation, the main demand must be Lebanon's sovereignty," he added.

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