Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported that on June 19, an Israeli drone strike on a vehicle near the town of Kfar Tebnit in southern Lebanon killed two people. Later the same day, a separate airstrike in Zabadin left one dead. Another drone attack on the town of Beit Yahoun in Nabatieh province wounded two others.
The attacks occurred one day after the United States and Iran signed a temporary agreement calling for an end to war on all fronts, including Lebanon. Despite the deal, Israel pressed ahead with its military operations.
The Israeli military also released a map showing the position of its forces inside Lebanese territory, extending some 10 kilometers along the “Yellow Line” – a framework similar to Israel’s military measures in the Gaza Strip. The map extends not only into Lebanese land but also into its maritime zones, which maritime law experts say could violate the 2022 Lebanon-Israel maritime deal if Israel occupies the area. The maritime zone includes Lebanon’s Qana gas project, whose exploration rights were guaranteed under the 2022 US-brokered maritime boundary agreement.
Domestically, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces pressure from Likud party lawmakers who demand a tougher stance toward the United States over Lebanon. Likud Knesset member Moshe Saada told Reuters: “Prime Minister Netanyahu needs to tell President Trump ‘enough’. I have a duty to protect Israelis, and withdrawing from Lebanon right now is an existential threat to Israel. The mission requires us to strike Lebanon all the time, everywhere, with maximum force, without proportionality.”
From Beirut, Al Jazeera correspondent Zeina Khodr reported that in recent days “the intensity of violence has decreased, in the sense that we no longer see Israel’s heavy bombing campaigns across southern Lebanon, but there are still drone attacks causing casualties.” She added that “Hezbollah feels very empowered by this agreement (between the US and Iran), believing that Iran has given them leverage to respond to Israel.” Hezbollah has retaliated against the attacks, sending a clear message that it would not accept a unilateral ceasefire. The Israeli military confirmed one soldier killed and others wounded in two Hezbollah attacks in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah also told the Lebanese government it would not accept disarmament.
