Middle East live: Israel hammers Lebanon and makes reported deal with Hezbollah (VIDEOS, PHOTOS)
Israel and Hezbollah have agreed to a ceasefire starting on Friday, Reuters has claimed, citing an unnamed US official and “two Hezbollah officials.” However, no official confirmation has been made by either the Israel Defense Forces or the militant group as of yet.
According to the US official who spoke to Reuters, negotiators for the US and Qatar worked out the deal with help from Iran. “We understand that after the exchange of fire earlier today, Israel and Hezbollah are now in a ceasefire,” he added.
The American-Iranian memo of understanding signed earlier this week states that the war should be terminated on all fronts, including in Lebanon. However, Israel has continued its strikes on its neighbor, killing at least 18 people only Friday night, the country’s health ministry said earlier.
Earlier today, Lebanese Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah told Reuters that Iran had informed the group that talks with Washington could not continue without the implementation of a comprehensive ceasefire.
He also called on the Lebanese government to reject any direct negotiations with Israel while Israeli attacks on Lebanon continue.
Hezbollah not only functions as a militant group, it is also as a political party and social welfare provider; however, it is at odds with the Lebanese government. In March, Lebanon’s government took the unprecedented step of banning Hezbollah’s military and security activity.
The group is represented in both the government and parliament. The move came hours after it announced it had launched rockets and drones towards Israel to avenge the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli attacks.
According to Asharq Al-Awsat sources, the Shiite political alliance is now divided over how to deal with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s government, which took the decision. While one faction, described as hardline, favors changing the government, another believes current political conditions make such a move unrealistic because of parliamentary arithmetic: priority should instead be given to securing an Israeli withdrawal and rebuilding devastated towns.
19 June 2026
18:03 GMTAn Israeli strike has killed two people in Nabatiyeh, southern Lebanon, Lebanese state news agency NNA has reported.
The pair was killed while riding a motorcycle, it said.
- 17:53 GMT
Thank you for staying with our coverage as we attempt to take a peek past the fog of war surrounding the developing – and volatile – situation in the Middle East.
- 17:46 GMT
The IDF soldier who shot 7-month-old baby Sam in the Palestinian West Bank earlier in June simply “ran away” without offering any medical assistance, the boy’s grieving father Fahed Haikal has told RT’s Charlotte Dubenskij.
While the IDF said that the serviceman “perceived” Haikal’s car accelerating towards him, footage recently released by Israeli NGO B’Tselem shows the car almost immediately stopped when prompted, she said.
The soldier’s shots went through the car’s windshield, piercing Haikal’s fingers, hitting his baby’s head and continuing through his wife’s cheek and chest.
“It’s crime. I can’t describe it, but it’s crime,” Haikal said.
Watch the full news report below:
- 17:35 GMT
Prior to the US-Iran ceasefire, American spy agencies warned the White House that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was likely to undermine the deal, the Washington Post has reported.
West Jerusalem is frustrated with the recently signed MOU and “appears intent on maintaining military operations” against Hezbollah, the newspaper wrote, citing recent US intelligence reports.
Netanyahu’s political survival is linked to demonstrating to the Israeli public that he will not withdraw troops from southern Lebanon, WaPo cited a US official as saying.
- 17:07 GMT
The IDF is “protecting” Israel by leveling entire sectors of villages in southern Lebanon, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has said.
“Every village, the first line of Lebanese villages was destroyed, every house was destroyed,” he said in an interview with Israeli Channel 14, citing the presence of Hezbollah infrastructure in the area.
“We are demolishing all the houses and the residents will never see them again.”
🇮🇱⚔️🇱🇧 "The entire first line of Lebanese villages has been destroyed. We are destroying all the houses. The residents will never see them standing before their eyes again." - Israeli Occupation Minister Katz bragging about war crimes on TV. pic.twitter.com/hed8mwlI9w
— DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) June 19, 2026 - 16:53 GMT
Israel continues to attack Hezbollah in southern Lebanon due to the militant group’s overnight attacks on Israel, which killed at least four Israeli service members, IDF Spokesman Effie Defrin has said.
“Overnight, Hezbollah once again attacked IDF soldiers operating in southern Lebanon to protect Israeli civilians. We lost four of our soldiers,” he said in a press briefing.
The attacks “prove that Hezbollah’s goals remain the same,” he said. “This is not a reality we can accept. And this is exactly why the IDF continues to operate in southern Lebanon.”
- 16:38 GMT
Attempts to eliminate Hezbollah have failed, the group’s secretary-general, Sheikh Naim Qassem, has said, vowing that Israeli forces will be driven out of Lebanese territory.
The group’s victory would mean forcing “the enemy” out of Lebanon, he added.
- 16:31 GMT
Any ships wanting to traverse the Strait of Hormuz need to submit requests 48 hours in advance, the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, Iran’s body overseeing the key waterway, said in a statement shortly after the imposition of the Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire.
Following the Islamabad MoU and official directives, vessels that submit compliant transit requests will be permitted to pass through the Strait of Hormuz during the announced period.
— PGSA | نهاد مدیریت آبراه خلیج فارس (@PGSA_IRAN) June 19, 2026
Details: https://t.co/7SPYB6INvIhttps://t.co/UjXJxljD6Epic.twitter.com/78Jte5aFpg - 16:14 GMT
Hezbollah will honor the ceasefire, provided Israel does the same, the organization’s political wing spokesman and Lebanese MP Ibrahim Al-Moussawi has said.
“We will abide by the ceasefire if Israel does, and we have the right to respond,” he said in a comment cited by Lebanese state news agency NNA.
- 16:03 GMT
Israeli forces retain “full freedom of action” to act against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, IDF Spokesman Effie Defrin has said.
Speaking at a press briefing shortly after the reported ceasefire, he declined to confirm the agreement.
Troops “have full operational freedom of action, to remove threats in any area,” he said. “There is no limit [to] removing threats.”
