Occupation forces will remain in the ‘security zone’ as long as necessary.

On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu granted the Israeli occupation army “full freedom of action to thwart any direct or imminent threat” originating from Lebanon.

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Israeli Troops To Remain in Lebanon Despite Ceasefire: Katz

“The order that the Defense Minister (Israel Katz) and I have given to the Israel Defense Forces is clear and has not changed: our troops in southern Lebanon have full freedom of action to thwart any direct or imminent threat against them or against the residents of the north,” he said.

The prime minister also said that the Israeli military, backed by himself and by “the entire people,” has no restrictions on its operations in the neighboring country, where it occupies about 570 square kilometers.

“Our forces in southern Lebanon have full freedom of action to thwart any direct or emerging threat against them or against residents of northern Israel. The IDF faces no restrictions in this regard.”

On June 5th Israel attacked the home of world famous Lebanese sea turtle conservationist Mona Khalil. Mona was hospitalized with burns and injuries to over 70% of her body.

Yesterday, June 19th, Mona died from her injuries.

This wasn’t an accident. They didn’t make a mistake.… pic.twitter.com/9DvgN9NCm5

— Mel (@Villgecrazylady) June 20, 2026

Netanyahu insisted that Israel will remain in the “Security Zone” — the term he uses to refer to the occupied Lebanese territory — “for as long as necessary.”

The Zionist leader has defended Israel’s freedom to continue occupying territory in the neighboring country despite the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding, which was signed last week and includes a cessation of hostilities in Lebanon.

The Israeli position, which on several occasions jeopardized negotiations to end the war on Iran, appeared to ease over the weekend, when Israel limited the intensity and frequency of its attacks in Lebanese territory following an unofficial truce with Hezbollah announced Friday afternoon.

Since March, however, Israeli occupation forces have killed 4,106 people and wounded 12,153 others, according to data released by the Lebanese authorities on Sunday.

Source: EFE

The director of Medical Relief in the Gaza Strip, Bassam Zaqout, warned on Monday of an imminent and dangerous collapse threatening what remains of the health system due to the severe Israeli restrictions that have prevented the entry of vital equipment and laboratory materials, causing a complete lack of diagnostic capabilities.

Zaqout explained in press statements that medical teams are now unable to test for the causes of widespread epidemics such as hepatitis and diarrhea, and are limited to treating only the symptoms. He noted that 70% of patients and those visiting medical facilities do not receive comprehensive care, according to the Palestinian news agency Sanad.

The relief director presented shocking figures illustrating the extent of the shortages, revealing that the Ministry of Health lacks 50% of essential medicines, 75% of diagnostic tests, and up to 95% of the supplies needed for life-saving cardiac catheterization procedures.

He noted that UNRWA has closed all its laboratories in the Gaza Strip due to a shortage of reagents, adding that the fuel crisis for generators has forced health and non-governmental organizations to drastically reduce their services.

Zaqout emphasized that the suffering is particularly acute for cancer patients and thousands of wounded and injured individuals, some of whom have been waiting for a year and a half to travel for the removal of shrapnel and treatment for chronic bone infections, facing the threat of amputation.

Medical relief organizations in the Gaza Strip had previously stated that the health situation in the Strip had reached its “worst” level since the beginning of the war, due to the ongoing obstruction of the entry of medical aid and essential supplies. The aid organization noted that the shortage of resources is worsening daily as the meager supplies of medical solutions and medications dwindle, leaving thousands of wounded and sick people with agonizing choices: either wait for death or seek treatment abroad.

The health system in Gaza is suffering from a complete lack of medical resources and capabilities as a result of the two-year Israeli aggression and war of extermination, coupled with the prevention of any aid or medical supplies from entering the Strip.

The enemy forces destroyed 103 primary healthcare centers (out of 157), while 54 centers are only partially operational. The direct targeting of health facilities resulted in the destruction of electrical and electromechanical systems, as well as 25 oxygen generation plants (out of 35) and 61 generators (out of 110).

Pakistan’s PM Shehbaz Sharif © speaks next to US VP JD Vance (L) and Qatar’s PM and FM Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani during a quadrilateral meeting between the United States, Iran, Pakistan and Qatar at the Burgenstock luxury hotel complex overlooking Lake Lucerne, Switzerland, on June 21, 2026 (image by AFP).

Talks between the United States and Iran in Switzerland produced a series of coordinated measures addressing Lebanon, maritime security, sanctions relief and the nuclear program, sources told Al-Manar on Monday.

The understandings reflect a dual-track approach combining de-escalation mechanisms in Lebanon and Strait of Hormuz with technical negotiations, amid efforts that test the viability of a broader agreement, according to the sources.

Key outcomes:

Lebanon monitoring mechanism: Agreement to establish a “Conflict Monitoring Unit” involving Lebanon, the United States, Qatar and Iran to oversee developments and prevent escalation.

Strait of Hormuz coordination: Creation of a direct hotline aimed at ensuring the gradual reopening of the strategic waterway and managing any emerging security incidents.

Frozen assets framework: Signing of a memorandum of understanding between Iran and Qatar to facilitate the release and implementation of frozen Iranian funds.

Sanctions relief: Issuing temporary exemptions by the US Treasury (OFAC) on Iranian oil and petrochemical exports for a period of 60 days.

Structured negotiation tracks: Formation of three specialized committees—covering nuclear issues, sanctions, and monitoring—to conduct intensive negotiations over the next two months.

Iran Links Hormuz Track to Lebanon Deal Compliance

Hasan Haidar, expert in Iranian affairs, told Al-Manar the Iranian delegation stressed that it would not proceed to the second phase of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) before full implementation of the first phase, particularly the provisions related to Lebanon, which had already been violated by the Israeli escalation on Friday and Saturday.

“Iranian officials framed compliance with the initial clause as a prerequisite for any further progress,” Haidar said.

Expert inIranian affairs Hasan Haidar in an interview with Al-Manar (Monday, JUne 22, 2026).

Tehran underlined that arrangements concerning the Strait of Hormuz were not conditioned solely on the lifting of US blockade, but on the comprehensive implementation of all MoU provisions, including those related to Lebanon, the release of frozen funds, and the easing of restrictions on oil derivatives exports, he added.

Haidar stated that the proposed mechanism includes a joint “monitoring cell” comprising representatives from Iran, the United States, Qatar, and Lebanon, with Qatar and the US acting as intermediaries and that they informed the Lebanese authorities about the monitoring cell.

“Iran said the objective of the Swiss talks was to agree on the creation of these enforcement structures to ensure practical implementation of the deal,” he noted.

Source: Al-Manar English Website

An Iranian negotiating source said the first round of four-way talks in Switzerland, involving Iran, the United States, Qatar, and Pakistan, concluded after about 80 minutes and was temporarily suspended for internal consultations.

The talks, held at the Bürgenstock Hotel under the “Lake Lucerne Meeting,” brought together the participating delegations, with Qatar and Pakistan acting as mediators.

No further details were disclosed regarding the discussions.

US President Donald Trump on Sunday threatened to strike Iran if it did not stop Hezbollah from “causing trouble,” as peace talks between senior US and Iranian officials began in Switzerland.

The negotiations opened against a backdrop of clashes in recent days between the Israeli army and Hezbollah – a Tehran ally – in southern Lebanon, threatening to derail the preliminary peace deal between Tehran and Washington.

“Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. “If they don’t, we’ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!”

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 30 people on Saturday in eastern and southern Lebanon, before a lull in the fighting that evening, when the Israeli army was ordered to halt clashes with Hezbollah.

The memorandum of understanding signed Wednesday between the United States and Iran stipulates a cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including in Lebanon.

At the outset of the talks in Switzerland on Sunday, US Vice President JD Vance said he had seen “great progress in the last just couple of days in ensuring that the ceasefire holds in Lebanon.”

“We’re all working towards regional peace,” he said. “I actually feel great about where we are in Lebanon. There’s still some additional wood to chop but we’re going to keep on working at it.”

Vance asserted that Trump and the United States had done more to stop the conflict in Lebanon than any other country in recent months.

Hezbollah flags (image from archive).

Hezbollah issued on Sunday a statement to highlight the fruitlessness of the direct negotiations between the Lebanese authorities and the Israeli enemy in Washington, condemning all the approach and its outcomes.

The statement stressed that the continued participation in direct negotiation sessions to be the implementation of the daily directives issued by the U.S. administration to the Lebanese authorities.

What follows is the text of the statement:

It has become clear and certain that the rounds of direct negotiations to which the Lebanese authority’s delegation was led in Washington amounted to nothing more than nodding in approval and endorsing the dictates drafted by the U.S. administration—dictates that undermine Lebanon’s sovereignty and shift its political position toward the camp of those reconciled with the Zionist occupation and its illegitimate entity.

No good whatsoever can be expected from these conciliatory negotiations, because their premise is flawed and suspicious, and their objective is submission and surrender.

We in Hezbollah once again condemn the approach of direct negotiations with the Zionist enemy, its successive rounds, and the outcomes resulting from them. We also condemn their obstructive role, which constitutes an obstacle to confronting the enemy’s project, the efforts of the resistance field, and the great sacrifices of our noble people—sacrifices that the authorities could instead utilize and leverage as sources of strength in order to achieve a complete and unconditional withdrawal from our Lebanese territory.

We consider the continued participation in direct negotiation sessions to be the implementation of the daily directives issued by the U.S. administration to the Lebanese authorities. Acting unilaterally and independently in their decision-making, in violation of the National Pact, the Constitution, and the laws, these authorities are responding to the agenda pursued by the United States and “Israel”, thereby increasing the dangers facing Lebanon, its stability, independence, and sovereignty.

Source: Al-Manar English Website

The Israeli army will not withdraw from territory occupied in southern Lebanon, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Sunday, Anadolu reports.

“The ceasefire announced yesterday leaves the IDF (army) in all positions within the security zone that protects the northern communities,” Katz said in a statement carried by The Times of Israel news portal.

The army “will not withdraw from the security zone in Lebanon,” he added.

The statement was made as negotiations between the US and Iran started in Switzerland on Sunday to reach a lasting peace agreement between the two sides.

An interim agreement between Washington and Tehran called for halting all hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon.

Katz claimed that Israeli forces have “no restriction” in Lebanon.

READ: Israeli strikes kill at least 28 in southern Lebanon despite ceasefire

“There was and is no restriction on IDF soldiers in Lebanon from operating to remove threats,” he said.

“As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have made clear, Israel will not withdraw from the security zone in Lebanon,” Katz said.

His comments came after a major Israeli escalation in Lebanon on Friday and Saturday, during which the Israeli military launched more than 200 strikes across southern and eastern parts of the country, claiming to target Hezbollah sites. Anadolu correspondents reported that many of the attacks hit homes and civilian infrastructure.

According to Lebanon’s Health Ministry, the strikes killed 105 people and injured over 150 others on Friday and Saturday.

Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed nearly 4,000 people, and injured over 12,000 others since March 2, according to official Lebanese figures.

Israel continues to occupy areas in southern Lebanon, some held for decades and others seized during the 2023–2024 war.

READ: Netanyahu: Israel will not withdraw from southern Lebanon

The US administration hopes that Iran will agree to allow UN inspectors’ access to its nuclear facilities. In exchange, Washington is prepared to give Tehran access to part of its previously frozen assets, Axios reported.

According to the portal’s sources, the US would like Iran to invite UN inspectors to its nuclear sites, which were bombed by the United States and Israel, as part of the outcome of the first round of talks. In return, the US is willing to give Iran access to some of its frozen funds, starting with the $6 bln account in Qatar, the report said. According to Axios, Iran could use these funds to purchase essential goods.

Technical consultations between the United States and Iran are expected to take place in Buergenstock, Switzerland, on June 21. Representatives of Pakistan and Qatar will also participate.

US Vice President JD Vance previously said that issues related to Iran’s nuclear program and a ceasefire in Lebanon would be among the main topics at the upcoming talks.

The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), has published exclusive footage aired for the first time from the heart of the battles in the city of Beit Hanoun, north of the Gaza Strip. This is part of their visual series titled “Moons of the Flood,” which documents the journey of field commanders who were martyred during the “Al-Aqsa Flood” battle.

According to the Palestinian Shehab News Agency on Saturday, the new release focused on documenting the biography of the martyred field commander Imran Nahed Abu Ouda, one of the most prominent commanders of the “Martyr Nidal Nasser Battalion” (Beit Hanoun) of the Northern Brigade.

Abu Ouda is considered one of the commanders who left a clear field mark in managing combat operations in the city, before he was martyred on September 8, 2025, in Beit Hanoun.

The footage published by “Moons of the Flood” showed behind-the-scenes of resistance operations inside Beit Hanoun’s tunnels, starting from planning and preparation stages to the execution of well-laid ambushes.

The footage included documentation of the martyred Abu Ouda’s sniper skills, showing him in a double sniping operation targeting a group of enemy soldiers positioned behind dirt berms inside the buffer zone east of the city.

The clip also showcased other sniping operations carried out by the martyr, which resulted in the injury of a number of soldiers.

The release revealed a high level of field coordination between commanders and fighters, with the footage showing the martyr Ahmed Suwailam alongside Abu Ouda. This fighter is on the enemy’s wanted list for his role in attacks that led to the death and injury of 14 soldiers during ground battles.

The camera documented the fighters moving with high proficiency among the rubble of destroyed buildings, using a network of secret tunnels that the enemy army failed to discover throughout the war, to carry out precise and swift strikes against invading forces, despite intensive sweeping operations that covered most of the city.

These scenes are of particular importance given the strategic location of Beit Hanoun city, north of the Gaza Strip, as it serves as a key junction and an advanced front line adjacent to the 1948 armistice line, close to the “Sderot” settlement and the “Erez” crossing.

Despite the widespread destruction left by the Israeli war, and the city’s transformation into what is described as a “yellow zone” under military control, the documented footage confirms the resistance’s continued ability to take initiative and engage in close-range clashes.

This release is part of the Al-Qassam Brigades’ efforts to document the details of ground battles and convey the experience of field commanders who managed battles that lasted for months in the hottest and most militarily challenging areas of the Strip.

The Iranian Ministry of Intelligence has announced the arrest of 17 agents of the US-Israeli enemy, who were involved in acts of sabotage and terror during the foreign-backed riots that swept across Iran in January.

The ministry announced in a statement on Saturday that the mercenaries included three leaders, who were identified and captured by its forces in the western Iranian province of Ilam.

The statement identified the three detainees leading the January riots as Murad A, Mahdi K, and Reza F, emphasizing they were identified and arrested following surveillance operations and public reports.

The Iranian Ministry of Intelligence further noted that those nabbed are violent thugs from the cities of Ilam, Malekshahi, and Sarabelah, who also played a role each during the January foreign-backed riots to undermine national security.

They destroyed and set fire to public properties and places, fired shots, and took pictures as well as video footage during their acts of terror, as they attempted to  create insecurity and terrorize people.

The ministry stated that three TNT cartridges, a Kalashnikov assault rifle, a grenade, and a large number of cold weapons, including machetes, were discovered and confiscated from the captured leaders.

The statement highlighted that the rest of the detainees were apparently looking for favorable opportunities to carry out the US-Israeli enemy’s plots during the recent US-Israeli war of aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The intelligence ministry noted that most of the arrested mercenaries, while providing information to foreign intelligence services and anti-Iran monarchist groups, were active in carrying out terrorist attacks during the January riots, and played a substantial role in attacking police stations and law enforcement forces in various parts of Ilam province.

In January, a wave of peaceful protests broke out among merchants in Tehran and other cities in Iran due to economic struggles worsened by years of Western sanctions.

The authorities recognized the legitimacy of the protesters’ demands, yet the demonstrations were hijacked by rioters supported by leaders from the American and Israeli regimes, who incited vandalism and chaos.

Officials stated that several of these mercenaries were armed, trained, and recruited by spy agencies from the US and Israel to provoke violence, destroy public property, and target civilians and security personnel.

Iran’s Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs reported in a statement that 3,117 individuals had died during the riots.

The report clarified that among those killed, 2,427 were innocent civilians and members of security forces.

According to the statement, many of the victims were bystanders and protesters who lost their lives due to gunfire from organized terrorist groups.

The association of water desalination stations in the Gaza Strip has warned of an imminent humanitarian catastrophe as several desalination plants have shut down due to severe fuel shortages.

In a statement addressed to official authorities and international organizations on Saturday, the association affirmed that some desalination stations had already shut down over the past two days after running completely out of fuel, threatening the supply of drinking water for hundreds of thousands of citizens.

The association said that a UNICEF representative informed owners of the desalination stations last Thursday that the agency was unable to secure the diesel fuel needed to operate their water facilities.

The association emphasized that the shutdown of desalination stations, even for limited periods, directly impacts water security in the Strip, given that a vast majority of the population depends on the facilities for daily drinking water.

The association called for urgent international action to provide Gaza’s desalination stations with their fuel needs and ensure their regular operation, warning that the water crisis could worsen and reach unprecedented levels.