Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon eased on Monday, June 15, but it didn't stop completely. An Israeli drone strike killed a driver in the southern town of Kfar Tebnit, underscoring how fragile the truce really is.
The calm came after the United States and Iran struck a deal early Monday to end their wider conflict. Pakistan, which mediated between Tehran and Washington, announced the agreement called for "the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon."
Hezbollah welcomed the deal at first. But hours later, the Iran-backed group said it fired drones and rockets at Israeli military vehicles it claimed were trying to push deeper into southern Lebanon. The Israeli military confirmed it intercepted rockets and said anti-tank missiles and mortar shells were also fired, though no injuries were reported on its side.
An Israeli drone circled over Beirut and its southern suburbs throughout Monday, according to Reuters reporters and residents.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late Monday that his troops would stay in southern Lebanon as long as needed. He claimed Iran had demanded a withdrawal but that he "stood firm." Netanyahu added that the Israeli military would maintain "freedom of action" in Lebanon to stop Hezbollah attacks and that it killed four militants who approached Israeli troops. Reuters couldn't independently confirm those incidents.
Hezbollah rejected any situation where Israel could keep striking Lebanon and warned against continuing attacks.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel would clear a security zone in southern Lebanon of residents and "all terrorist infrastructure, including houses" — a reference to Hezbollah. The Israeli military has been razing villages in the predominantly Shi'ite Muslim region for weeks, saying it's targeting Hezbollah fighters embedded in civilian areas. Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese Shi'ites are sheltering elsewhere in the country.
In Nabatieh, a devastated southern city, Mohammed Daqdouq returned Monday morning to check his home. "We'll need a lifetime to rebuild," he said. Local authorities urged residents not to return yet.
Lebanon has suffered the deadliest spillover of the US-Iran conflict. Nearly 3,800 people have been killed and some 1.2 million uprooted by Israel's offensive against Hezbollah, which opened fire on Israel in support of Tehran on March 2.
President Joseph Aoun issued a careful statement Monday, thanking those who worked for de-escalation in Lebanon and appreciating the deal's recognition of his country's stability. He didn't mention Iran or Israel. Earlier, Aoun had accused Tehran of using Lebanon as a bargaining chip. Later, he spoke to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi by phone and issued a second statement welcoming the deal.
Araqchi also spoke separately to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah political ally and head of the Shi'ite Amal Movement, who hailed the agreement.
Iran, whose Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps founded Hezbollah in 1982, insisted that a Lebanon ceasefire be part of any broader deal with the US. A Hezbollah official told Reuters the group's position on the ceasefire was linked to Israel adhering to it. The official, who declined to be named, said Iran delayed signing its memorandum with the US until June 19 partly to monitor whether Israel would keep up strikes on Lebanon. Israel isn't a party to the US-Iran deal.