Israel kills at least 29 in Lebanon, one day after ceasefire deal
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Fleur Hargreaves
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Sat, 06/20/2026 - 12:18
Israeli forces launch new wave of attacks, while Iran says US deal dependent on security for Lebanon
Smoke rises from the site of a string of Israeli air strikes that targeted the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh on 20 June 2026 (Abbas Fakih/AFP)
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At least 29 people have been killed in a new wave of Israeli attacks on Lebanon across southern Lebanon and the eastern Beqaa Valley, just a day after a ceasefire was announced.
Lebanon’s civil defence agency said a series of Israeli attacks on the Nabatieh district in the country’s south on Saturday killed 16 people and wounded 12 others.
The agency said its personnel had been working since dawn to respond to the ongoing attacks.
An Israeli strike on the village of Barish in Tyre, a coastal city known as Sour in Arabic, killed four members of the same family, which Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) described as a "massacre".
The NNA also reported that at least seven people were killed and 13 were injured in an Israeli attack on a village near the southern city of Sidon.
Another person was killed in the municipality of Shahour in the Tyre district, and one person was killed in the town of Sohmor, the western Bekaa Valley, in eastern Lebanon.
In a statement published on X, the Lebanese army said one of its officers had been killed in an Israeli air strike on the Kfar Rumman-Nabatieh road.
“It has become clear that the continued brutal Israeli attacks aim to obstruct any solution that would allow for the restoration of stability in Lebanon,” the army said in a statement.
The Israeli army said it was striking Hezbollah in response to overnight projectile attacks on Israeli troops stationed in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah said its fighters confronted Israeli forces overnight as they attempted to infiltrate strategic hills overlooking Nabatieh.
"Again, under the cover of the ceasefire, the enemy last night carried out an infiltration attempt towards the Ali Taher hills," Hezbollah said in a statement, adding that fighters ambushed the Israeli troops and "confronted them with appropriate weapons".
Meanwhile, a member of the Lebanese parliament affiliated with Hezbollah, Hassan Fadlallah, said on Saturday that the group had the “full right” to respond to Israeli attacks and that any ceasefire would be “meaningless” while Israel continued to occupy Lebanese territory.
He said Israel must fully respect the ceasefire agreement by refraining from attacking Lebanese territory or occupying new positions.
“The resistance has the full right to confront this enemy when it attacks us, as it is the aggressor and the occupier,” he added.
Ceasefire sabotage
The attacks on Lebanon come as the US and Iran sought to implement a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at ending hostilities.
The deal has prompted anger and disappointment from Israeli officials, who took to social media to vent their frustrations.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called it “bad for Israel” and added that Israel would have to continue its campaign against Iran alone. Meanwhile, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir wrote: "Trump's agreement does not bind us."
What does the US-Iran deal mean for Lebanon?
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US President Donald Trump also criticised Israeli conduct, saying that “too many people have been killed in Lebanon” and suggesting its tactics were disproportionate and indiscriminate.
Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a preliminary agreement earlier this week to halt hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon. However, follow-up talks scheduled for Friday in Switzerland were indefinitely postponed after Israel launched a wave of attacks that killed 18 people in Lebanon.
The Israeli government and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire on Friday afternoon, mediated by Qatar and the US.
Just hours before the deal was signed, Ben Gvir wrote in a post on X that “all of Lebanon must burn” after the deaths of four Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon.
In response, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that his comments were characteristic of the Israeli government’s official position, which he called “a threat to all of humanity”.
“This is not a rant by a random genocidal lunatic. It’s a public post by the national security minister of the Israeli regime,” Araghchi wrote on X.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh doubled down on Tehran's position in an interview with Al Jazeera Arabic on Friday, saying Iran's willingness to continue negotiations with Washington depends on the “seriousness” needed to ensure Israel abides by the terms of the MoU.
Khatibzadeh warned that Israel's “continued war-making” would carry consequences that are “serious and immediate”.
“There will be no peace or stability in Lebanon and the region without ending the occupation and Israel’s commitment to international law,” he added.
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