Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said on Friday that “all of Lebanon must burn” after Israel’s military announced the deaths of four soldiers there.
“For every tear of an Israeli mother, a thousand Lebanese mothers must weep,” he wrote on X.
על כל דמעה של אמא ישראלית, אלף אמהות לבנוניות צריכות לבכות. לבנון כולה צריכה לבעור!
עם כל הכבוד לאמריקאים, ישראל חייבת להבהיר לעולם כולו שדם בנינו וביטחון אזרחנו איננו הפקר. לבנון כולה צריכה לבעור. חובתנו העליונה היא להגן על אזרחי ישראל ועל חיילי צה״ל, והמחויבות הזו קודמת לכל…
— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) June 19, 2026
“With all due respect to the Americans, Israel must make it clear to the entire world that the blood of our sons and the security of our citizens are not up for bargaining. All of Lebanon must burn,” Ben Gvir said.
Ben Gvir went on to say that “In the Middle East, you don’t win with measured responses and restraint-you need to go berserk” to “crush the terror.”
The war began by Israel and the US on Iran has killed thousands of Lebanese and Iranians; Israel’s genocide in Gaza has resulted in tens of thousands of civilian deaths, vast destruction of civilian infrastructure and widespread famine.
Israeli opposition leader warns country’s foreign relations being damaged amid tensions with allies
Israeli opposition leader and former Prime Minister Yair Lapid on Friday criticised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, warning that Israel’s international relations were deteriorating following growing tensions with key allies.
In a post on US social media company X, Lapid pointed to a series of recent diplomatic disputes involving senior Israeli officials and international partners.
ביממה האחרונה סגן נשיא ארה״ב התעצבן במסיבת עתונאים על סמוטריץ׳ ובן גביר, שר החוץ סער ניתק את הקשרים עם שרת החוץ של האיחוד האירופי, והנשיא טראמפ אמר שנתניהו מגלה חוסר אחריות בלבנון. אם לא נחליף מהר את הממשלה הזו, יחסי החוץ של ישראל יימחקו
— יאיר לפיד – Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) June 19, 2026
“In the past day, the US Vice President got angry at a press conference over Smotrich and Ben Gvir, Foreign Minister Sa’ar cut ties with the European Union’s foreign minister, and President Trump said Netanyahu is showing irresponsibility in Lebanon,” Lapid wrote.
“If we don’t quickly replace this government, Israel’s foreign relations will be wiped out,” he added.
Lapid’s remarks came amid growing debate in Israel over the government’s handling of relations with Washington and European partners following the signing of a US-Iran memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the regional conflict.
Scheduled US-Iran talks called off as Israel strikes southern Lebanon
US Vice President JD Vance pulled out of a planned trip to meet Iranian negotiators in Switzerland on Friday to begin talks on implementing the “Islamabad MoU” struck between Tehran and Washington, a White House spokesperson said, as Israeli strikes killed at least 15 people in southern Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA).
BREAKING: US VP Vance not travelling tonight to Switzerland, plans for Iran talks not yet finalised: White House
🔴 LIVE updates: https://t.co/SUkdgrADkJ pic.twitter.com/QFA4CmZOTU
— Al Jazeera Breaking News (@AJENews) June 19, 2026
Al Jazeera reported that according to the NNA, the overnight bombardment was one of the most intense Israeli assaults on the area, with multiple homes targeted after midnight.
Israeli artillery fire was reported in the city of Nabatieh, as well as in Kfar Jouz and several surrounding towns, including Kfar Reman and Zebdine, NNA said. Waves of air strikes then also hit Kfar Tibnit and the Rayhan heights.
At least eight people were killed in Nabatieh and Harouf, the agency reported. Four people were killed in a strike on a home between Al-Sharqiya and Doueir, while an attack in the town of Kfar Sir killed three people.
One person was killed and another wounded in an Israeli drone strike that hit a motorcycle near the Doueir municipality building, as per Al Jazeera
The Israeli military claimed they were striking Hezbollah targets, adding that the attacks were in response to “ceasefire violations” on Hezbollah’s part
Israel hits Lebanon with deadly strikes, says four of its troops killed
At least 18 people were killed in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Friday, Lebanon’s NNA reported, while the Israeli military said four soldiers were killed in one of the deadliest single incidents since the latest escalation began.
The Lebanese health ministry said intensive airstrikes since midnight had hampered rescue and evacuation efforts, reporting a preliminary toll of 18 dead and 33 wounded that was expected to rise.
Residents and Lebanese media said airstrikes and shelling hit several towns in the Nabatieh district overnight and into early Friday, in what Lebanon’s state news agency NNA described as one of the heaviest bombardments in recent weeks.
Israel said the strikes targeted what it described as Hezbollah operatives and infrastructure across several areas of southern Lebanon and were carried out in response to repeated ceasefire violations by the Iran-backed group.
Hezbollah said its fighters ambushed an Israeli force advancing near Ali al-Taher hill in southern Lebanon, destroying three Merkava tanks with guided missiles and targeting troops with rocket and artillery fire. The group said clashes were ongoing.
The escalation came a day after Israel published a map showing an expanded military control zone in southern Lebanon and said it would not rule out carrying out attacks beyond it, raising questions over an agreement reached on Wednesday to end the US-Israeli war on Iran.
The agreement calls for an end to hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon, and for parties to respect Lebanon’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
A senior Israeli official said Israel was engaged in “stubborn negotiations” with US President Donald Trump’s administration over maintaining troops up to 10 km (6.2 miles) inside southern Lebanon as it pursues Hezbollah.
Israel has rejected calls to withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon and has continued to attack Lebanon, while Hezbollah has retaliated by striking Israeli positions.
Macron urges Netanyahu to show responsibility, rationality
French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “show responsibility and rationality,” saying he disagrees with Israeli policies in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and southern Lebanon.
In an interview with broadcaster France 2 television a day after the G7 summit in Evian, Macron condemned what he described as “new settlements and acts that are absolutely unacceptable in the West Bank.”
According to Macron, these policies are “feeding resentment and violence among all the populations of the region.”
Macron added that the US-Iran agreement was finalised in the final hours of the G7 summit and rejected suggestions that it amounted to a capitulation by Tehran.
He said many of Iran’s military capabilities had been destroyed but noted that key issues would still need to be addressed during negotiations expected to continue over the next 60 days.
The French president reiterated that France and the UK are ready to help secure the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and said Paris is prepared to participate in negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program.
He also said France would help the Lebanese army reassert control over its territory.
France urges Israel to ‘respect’ US-Iran deal ceasefire
France on Friday urged Israel to “respect” a deal signed between the United States and Iran to end the Middle East war, the French foreign minister said after overnight Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon.
“This agreement provides for a cessation of hostilities; the Israeli government must respect it, and the United States in particular must exert all the necessary pressure on the Israeli government to ensure that this is the case,” Jean-Noel Barrot said on FranceInfo radio.
He said the priority now was to ensure the full execution of the agreement’s final steps, including measures related to regional stability and security guarantees.
Barrot warned that without a deal, the region risked prolonged instability, adding that the agreement was necessary to prevent further escalation and economic fallout linked to energy routes.
He stressed that France would remain engaged in diplomatic efforts and coordination with international partners as implementation of the agreement moves forward.
US-Iran talks scheduled for Friday cancelled: Swiss Foreign Ministry
“The discussion at Bürgenstock will not take place as planned today,” the ministry announced in a statement. “Consequently, the meeting announced yesterday is cancelled.”
The statement came right after the White House announced that US Vice President JD Vance will not be departing for Switzerland on Thursday as logistical details for expected technical talks with Iran remain unresolved.
Read: PM Shehbaz announces signing of ‘Islamabad MoU’ by US, Iranian leadership
On Wednesday evening, US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian electronically signed the “Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding,” which is intended to pave the way for ending the war launched by Washington and Tel Aviv against Iran on February 28.
Under the terms of the deal, Iran will immediately reopen the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, while the US will lift its naval blockade, according to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who also signed the document as mediator.
US vice president cancels trip for peace talks with Iran
US officials said this week they would hold a formal signing ceremony for the US-Iran agreement in Geneva, but Iran’s foreign ministry cast doubt on that, saying it was unnecessary after both countries’ presidents signed the agreement on Wednesday.
Iran had said it was ready to begin technical talks after the two enemies extended a tenuous ceasefire by at least 60 days with the accord. But the semi-official Tasnim news agency said earlier on Thursday, before Vance’s announcement, that Iran’s negotiators needed to see signs of implementation of the interim agreement from the US before the next rounds of peace talks could begin, and that there was no confirmation that its delegation would travel to Geneva.
Vance and the US delegation had been ready to depart as soon as plans for the talks had been finalised, the White House spokesperson said in a statement on Thursday night. “But the logistics of these negotiations have never been simple or predictable,” the statement said. There was no immediate response from Iran’s government.
The diplomatic back-and-forth over the planned ceremony and photo-op adds to the uncertainty over whether a lasting truce can be found to a regional war that has killed at least 7,000 people, sent energy prices soaring and shaken global markets.
In Washington, some of US President Donald Trump’s Republican allies in Congress questioned whether he had given up too much to end the conflict, which is unpopular with most Americans.
Trump previously wrote he would only end the war with Iran’s “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER,” but the memorandum he signed with Iran instead provides relief from economic sanctions, unfreezes assets worth tens of billions of dollars and immediately provides US waivers for Iran to export its oil.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said Trump had signed the deal “out of desperation” and signalled that upcoming talks over Iran’s nuclear program, among Trump’s stated reasons for starting the war, would not be easy.
“If the American side wants to be too demanding, we will not accept it,” he said in a written message.
The deal gives negotiators 60 days to reach agreement on the status of Iran’s nuclear program unless both sides agree to an extension, and set up a $300 billion reconstruction fund for Iran and other financial incentives. Vance said Washington would also seek to limit Iran’s long-range missiles.
When the US and Israel launched the war nearly four months ago, Trump said he aimed to destroy Iran’s nuclear program to ensure it could never develop nuclear weapons, end Tehran’s ability to strike its neighbours, prevent it from supporting allied anti-Israel militants in the region and make it possible for Iranians to topple their theocratic government.
Trump signed the deal with none of those objectives met.
In the agreement, Iran restated its decades-long position that it will not get or develop nuclear weapons, a position doubted by a succession of US presidents. It also agreed to the onsite “down blending” of its highly enriched uranium stockpile and inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency as a Non-Proliferation Treaty member, rejecting Trump’s wish to remove the material from the country.
US officials say the negotiations could still yield a strong agreement on Iran’s nuclear program, aiming to exceed one from 2015 between Iran and the US and other countries that Trump tore up in his first term. But critics say Iran is in a stronger position now, having withstood a superpower attack, exerted control of the Strait of Hormuz and gained valuable waivers to financial sanctions.
Iran has said it will still exert control over Hormuz in partnership with its neighbour Oman across the strait and intends to charge ships fees for services that did not exist before the war, although it says no fees will be charged during the 60-day negotiations period.
In Lebanon, where the fighting has displaced more than a million people, Israeli forces launched fresh airstrikes early on Thursday, raising doubt about how far Trump will go to force his wartime allies to halt an offensive he has now pledged to end.
Trump said he expects a complete ceasefire on all fronts.
The deal calls for the “permanent termination” of the war in Lebanon and for the country’s “territorial integrity and sovereignty” to be ensured.
Israel has said it has no intention of withdrawing from Lebanon and released a new map showing an expanded occupation zone.Latest News, Breaking News & Top News Stories | The Express TribuneAFPRead More