Israeli military strikes in southern Lebanon in intense fighting as US-Iran talks postponed

A photograph taken from the southern Lebanese region of Marjayoun shows smoke rising following an Israeli strike near Aarab Salim on June 19, 2026. AFP-Yonhap

JERUSALEM — Israel’s military struck targets throughout southern Lebanon overnight into Friday and Hezbollah reported intense fighting in the area, threatening the nascent agreement between Iran and the United States to end their war. Lebanese media reported at least 18 people killed in the strikes, and Israel said four soldiers died.

The conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah is the most precarious part of the Iran deal. Neither Israel nor the militant group signed the agreement — but it is supposed to end their fighting, and Iran has signaled its willingness to risk renewed war in the region for the sake of its interests in Lebanon and its most important regional ally.

Iranian officials didn't travel as planned to Switzerland for talks on Friday with the United States, in part over the fighting, a regional official said. U.S. Vice President JD Vance also called off his trip, and mediators are now scrambling to reschedule the meetings, which were supposed to begin addressing how to restrict Iran’s nuclear program — the core issue over which Israel and the U.S. went to war on Feb. 28.

The talks are also supposed to bring about a permanent end to the conflict. The interim deal has already reopened the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping, after Iranian attacks and threats all but stopped the flow of oil and natural gas through the waterway. That caused energy prices to skyrocket far beyond the region, and President Donald Trump said he signed the agreement to avoid “economic catastrophe” in the U.S.

A new Iranian authority charged with overseeing the strait issued guidance Friday calling on ships to register with it even as transits are currently free — signaling Tehran’s intent to likely start charging. The notice came from the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, a new agency in the Islamic Republic.

The Israeli military said strikes were ongoing on Friday after four of its soldiers, including a lieutenant colonel, were killed in an attack on a tank in a village near the southern Lebanese city of Nabatiyeh. An explosive drone attack wounded another five, it added.

Israel then launched multiple strikes against “Hezbollah infrastructure sites” in Nabatiyeh and other areas, according to a military statement, which accused the militant group of “blatant ceasefire violations.”

Later, the military said it also struck targets in the Beqaa Valley in eastern Lebanon, with Lebanese media saying the village of Douris was hit.

“Israel will not tolerate attacks on our soldiers or on our territory, and it will exact a very heavy price from Hezbollah for these attacks,” Netanyahu said in a statement Friday.

Hezbollah acknowledged targeting Israeli tanks and said its attacks were in response to what it called Israel’s own violation of the ceasefire. It said the attacks came after Israeli forces attempted to reach the northern side of Ali al-Taher hilltop, a strategic point that overlooks Nabatiyeh and that Israeli troops have been trying to capture.

The fighting threatens to unravel the newly signed deal . Beyond ending the hostilities in Lebanon, the agreement calls for ensuring Lebanon’s “territorial integrity and sovereignty.”

It does not say whether that means Israel would withdraw from the large swaths of southern Lebanon it has occupied since Hezbollah joined the war in its early days by firing rockets and drones at northern Israel.

Iran has insisted Israel pull back, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that forces would remain in a “security zone” of southern Lebanon as long as “Israel’s security needs require it.”

Israel’s actions in Lebanon have created a rift between Israel and the U.S., with Trump becoming increasingly critical of his close ally Netanyahu.

The U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, came to Israel’s defense on Friday, however, noting the deaths of the soldiers in a post on X.

“Israel strikes when struck,” he wrote. “Ceasefire happens when Hezbollah stops shooting & killing.”