Weekend Recap: Lebanon-Israel Talks
By Sammy Tisser,
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told Secretary of State Marco Rubio that a comprehensive ceasefire is required for talks with Israel to progress, according to a Lebanese presidency readout, which said Aoun stressed that Israeli strikes on Lebanese territory must stop entirely. The US readout said Rubio reaffirmed support for Lebanese sovereignty, praised Aoun's pursuit of the process, and called bilateral talks with Israel the only realistic path to reconstruction, economic recovery, and ending recurring cycles of violence. Rubio also raised the need to disarm Hezbollah and restore Lebanese state control over its territory, in coordination with regional partners. The next round of Washington-brokered Israel-Lebanon talks is scheduled for Tuesday through Thursday.
Axios reported that Rubio plans a Middle East trip next week to Kuwait, the UAE, and Bahrain, with no stop in Israel currently on the itinerary.
Netanyahu / Hold-Fire Order
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the IDF to hold its fire in Lebanon following what Channel 12 described as coordination with the United States. The military said it would continue operating inside its declared security zone, which the IDF expanded this past Thursday to include both the Ali Taher ridge and the Majdal Zoun area, while halting fire elsewhere in the country.
Netanyahu brought in his former top aide Ron Dermer to address ministers pushing for an intensified campaign against Hezbollah, telling them, according to Channel 12, that the situation "isn't easy" and that Israel could not be seen as the reason a deal with Iran fails. Netanyahu's office, through an unnamed senior official, said Israeli forces would remain in southern Lebanon "for as long as necessary," citing roughly 300 targets struck and 100 militants killed over the prior two days. A separate unnamed minister was cited by Channel 12 using a derogatory term for President Trump while pushing for tougher action after four soldiers were killed in south Lebanon, arguing that the rules of engagement needed to be set now, "before they are ultimately formulated for us."
Lebanon / Hezbollah
A new Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire announced over the weekend did not hold. Lebanese civil defense reported roughly two dozen people killed in continued Israeli strikes across the Nabatieh district, including a strike in Sohmor, in the Beqaa Valley, that killed four people and left a child trapped under rubble. Separate strikes were reported near Arabsalim and Sidon. The Lebanese army said one of its soldiers was killed on the Kfar Rumman-Nabatieh road, calling the continued strikes an attempt "to obstruct any solution that would allow for restoring stability in Lebanon."
The IDF said Hezbollah fired more than 50 projectiles at its forces overnight, in what it called repeated ceasefire violations, and that it struck back at rocket launchers, weapons depots, and command centers in southern Lebanon in response. Hezbollah said it had honored the truce since Friday afternoon but accused Israeli troops of attempting to advance on the Ali Taher ridge, an area the IDF says sits above a major tunnel system it describes as the "nerve center" of Hezbollah's Badr regional division. A separate overnight attack involving rockets and an explosive drone struck a military position in Kfar Tebnit, killing Sgt. First Class Nir Ben Ari, 21, of the Maglan unit, and wounding 13 other soldiers.
Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter said on X that Hezbollah fired 147 rockets, 20 drones, and 9 anti-tank missiles at Israeli forces over 24 hours, listing a dozen villages he said the fire originated from, and said Israel halted offensive operations at 11:30 a.m. Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said the group retains the right to respond if attacked.
US-Israel Relations
The Washington Post reported that US intelligence agencies assess Netanyahu is likely to continue undermining the broader US-brokered peace push with Iran, citing officials who said his political position ahead of fall Knesset elections depends on maintaining a military presence in southern Lebanon. Channel 12 separately reported that some US officials have opened informal channels to Israel's political opposition, including Naftali Bennett and Gadi Eisenkot, citing concern over hardline figures in the current government and the possibility Netanyahu loses the October election.
President Trump told NBC he had pressed Israel for a ceasefire with Hezbollah, saying "you just gotta calm down sometimes and use your head," and declined to say whether he had spoken with Netanyahu directly. A senior US official told Channel 12 that Washington had demanded Israel cease fire except in self-defense. Trump later told reporters at an Air Force One unveiling event that the US and Israel "fought very well" together, crediting Netanyahu as a "warrior prime minister" who deserved credit for the fight against Iran, and repeatedly thanked Qatar for gifting the plane, which will serve as Air Force One until a new aircraft is ready.
At that same event, Trump said he was prepared to resume bombing Iran if the 60-day talks tied to this week's MOU don't advance, though he said he'd rather avoid that because it would likely prompt Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz again, noting that "people that own billion dollar ships don't love missiles flying over them, don't love mines all over the water." He said he believed Iran would ultimately come to terms. Trump stated he had signed the memorandum with Iran "last night," a reference that placed the signing on Thursday, though it was actually signed Wednesday. The agreement has reportedly caused unease in Jerusalem.
Ben Gvir Post
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir's call for "all of Lebanon" to burn, posted after the four soldiers were killed in south Lebanon, drew international criticism, including from UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, who called on Israel and Hezbollah to comply with the ceasefire and protect civilians. X labeled the post as violating its rules while leaving it accessible on public-interest grounds. Leiter separately wrote on X that Israel wants a future peace with Lebanon once Hezbollah is dismantled and defended the southern Lebanon buffer zone as necessary until that goal is met.
Iran Nuclear Talks
Following this week's signing of a US-Iran memorandum of understanding, delegations from both countries traveled to the Burgenstock resort in Switzerland for the first round of implementation talks, originally planned for Friday but delayed amid the fighting in Lebanon and now set for Sunday. The Swiss foreign ministry said Burgenstock continues to offer a "discreet and reliable setting" for the discussions and declined to disclose further details, citing confidentiality.
Vice President JD Vance told Fox News he expected to travel to Switzerland within the next couple of days, calling the scheduling "always a delicate coordination dance" tied to diplomatic protocols, and said talks would begin once Iranian, Qatari, and Pakistani principals arrive, possibly as soon as the next day. Special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had already arrived at the resort, along with Qatar's prime minister and other mediating-country officials. Iran's delegation includes parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and central bank and oil officials. Pakistani and Qatari mediators are participating, and IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi is expected to join the technical sessions. Iranian state TV confirmed the negotiating team's departure for Switzerland, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei saying "any memorandum or agreement is ultimately tested when it enters the implementation phase." Pakistan's foreign ministry said the technical-level talks would be held in Burgenstock on June 21, with Pakistani and Qatari mediators present alongside US and Iranian representatives.
Channel 12 reported the initial US goal is securing Iran's agreement to readmit IAEA inspectors to its nuclear sites, including Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan, for the first time since last June's 12-day war, in exchange for unfreezing several billion dollars in Iranian assets held in Qatar for humanitarian use. The Wall Street Journal reported separately that the US and Qatar are developing a plan that would let Iran's central bank draw on $6 billion in frozen Qatari funds for food, medicine, and other humanitarian goods under international supervision, though the plan remains preliminary and has not been agreed to by Tehran. Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi traveled to Tehran to meet Araghchi, with Iran's Foreign Ministry saying the visit was part of Islamabad's ongoing support for the negotiations.
Strait of Hormuz
Iran's military said it had again closed the Strait of Hormuz, citing Israeli strikes in Lebanon as a violation of Tehran's agreement with Washington and warning of further steps if the strikes continued. US Central Command said in a statement that US forces remained "present and vigilant" to ensure all aspects of the Iran agreement are upheld. Vance separately told Fox News there was "no evidence" the strait was closed, and CENTCOM spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins told Reuters that Iran does not control the waterway and that traffic continued to flow normally. The dispute eased once Netanyahu's hold-fire order took effect, and Iran's negotiating team confirmed it would proceed to the Switzerland talks.
Gaza
Four people were killed and several others wounded in an Israeli strike on an apartment in Gaza City, Palestinian media reported, with no IDF comment. In a separate round of strikes and gunfire, Israeli forces killed at least six Palestinians, including a child: four people, among them two women and a child, were killed in a strike on an apartment building in Gaza City's Sabra neighborhood; a woman was shot and killed by Israeli forces in Beit Lahiya; and an airstrike in Khan Younis killed one person and wounded eight others. The IDF did not comment on either round of strikes.
Ebola Scare
Israel's Health Ministry said a man suspected of having Ebola after a recent trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo was transferred to Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, the hospital designated for treating the disease. The ministry said the case has not been confirmed, that the patient is being treated in isolation, and that contact tracing is underway to alert anyone who may have had contact with him, noting that Ebola is not airborne and spreads through direct contact with a symptomatic person or with blood, body fluids, or secretions. Final test results are expected within 48 hours. Kan public broadcaster published footage of Magen David Adom medical workers being disinfected after contact with the suspected patient.
Also This Week
Two Syrian soldiers were killed in an attack by unidentified gunmen near Manbij in northeastern Aleppo, Syria's Defense Ministry said, without providing further detail.
Iran's Sharif University of Technology expelled six students over alleged involvement in anti-government unrest in February, according to Fars news agency, which said the students were accused of leading illegal gatherings, using insulting language, acting against the Islamic Republic, and displaying the pre-1979 Lion and Sun emblem associated with opponents of the Islamic Republic, including supporters of exiled prince Reza Pahlavi. It was not clear whether the students also face charges before Iran's criminal or revolutionary courts. The unrest traces back to cost-of-living protests that began in December and escalated into broader anti-establishment rallies that peaked in January, met at the time with a crackdown that killed thousands; smaller campus demonstrations continued in the weeks that followed.
Topics: Iran, Strait of Hormuz, Lebanon & Hezbollah
Reported by Sammy Tisser for Bernie News Network. See our editorial standards and corrections policy.