June 27: Netanyahu maintains Israel ‘created conditions’ for Iranian regime’s collapse
PM says he plans to send delegation to DC to express concerns over US-Iran deal * Lebanon says Aoun spoke with Trump, asked US to press Israel on withdrawing from south
The Times of Israel liveblogged Saturday’s events as they unfolded.
Trump warns US may be ‘forced to militarily complete the job’ in Iran after new strikes
US President Donald Trump confirms that the US military struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations, and coastal radar sites for violating a US-Iran ceasefire agreement.
“There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started,” Trump writes on Truth Social.
“If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist.”
US defense official tells media latest strikes on Iran are complete
Citing a US defense official, Fox News reports that the latest US strikes on Iranian targets are complete.
The US had said that it launched the strikes “in direct response to continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping” after a Panama-flagged tanker was attacked by an Iranian drone early on Saturday.
In Iran, state broadcaster IRIB says that explosions were heard in Sirik in southern Iran, without providing further details.
House minority leader Jeffries congratulates anti-Israel primary winners who refused to endorse him
US Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the House minority leader, congratulates recent winners of New York Democratic party primaries, despite two of the candidates declining to support him as a potential House speaker.
Jeffries’ statement congratulates Darializa Avila Chevalier, Claire Valdez, Brad Lander and Micah Lasher, who all won Democratic party primaries in New York City this week.
All are expected to win seats in Congress in the general election in their Democratic-majority districts.
“From public servants to union organizers to community activists, the path is different but the work is the same,” Jeffries says in a statement. “We must decisively address the affordability crisis and crush far-right extremism.”
Congratulations to our newest members of the NYC congressional delegation.
From public servants to union organizers to community activists, the path is different but the work is the same.
We must decisively address the affordability crisis and crush far-right extremism! pic.twitter.com/f4XC6dpX7q
— Hakeem Jeffries (@hakeemjeffries) June 27, 2026
In each election, Israel was a central issue. Chevalier and Valdez are aligned with anti-Zionist ideology, while Lander is Jewish and defines himself as a “liberal Zionist” but also harshly critical of Israel.
Jeffries, as House minority leader, regularly welcomes new party members to the House, but the congratulatory statement is complicated by political circumstances.
Chevalier defeated incumbent Adriano Espaillat and Lander beat incumbent Dan Goldman. Jeffries had endorsed Espaillat and Goldman.
Chevalier and Valdez, both members of the far left Democratic Socialists of America, have declined to endorse Jeffries as majority leader if Democrats take back the House.
Their refusal to endorse Jeffries highlights the tense relationship between the DSA and more moderate Democrats.
At an election night party for Valdez, attendees chanted, “You’re next,” at Jeffries when he appeared on a screen at the event.
Mainstream Jewish leaders have lined up behind Jeffries amid threats against his leadership from the DSA.
Jeffries has supported Israel’s existence as a Jewish and Democratic state and backed US security assistance to Israel.
He has also been harshly critical of the war in Gaza, saying last year that “the starvation and death of Palestinian children and civilians in an ongoing war zone is unacceptable.”
Those positions put him in line with Democratic Party moderates, while the insurgent DSA is more in line with far left anti-Zionism.
CENTCOM confirms fresh US strikes: Iran had ‘chance to honor the ceasefire but elected not to’
US Central Command, which oversees American military forces in the Middle East, confirms launching fresh strikes on Iran after it attacked a commercial oil tanker with a drone.
In a statement, CENTCOM says Iran had been “given a chance to honor the ceasefire agreement but elected not to” by attacking the ship, which followed US strikes in response to a previous Iranian attack.
CENTCOM says the latest strikes “targeted Iranian military surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defense sites, drone storage facilities, and minelayer capabilities.”
“Commercial vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz continue,” it adds. “US forces remain vigilant, lethal, and ready.”
Lebanon says Aoun spoke with Trump, asked US to press Israel on withdrawing from south
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun tells US President Donald Trump that he hopes Washington will help prevent violations of a framework agreement with Israel and ensure agreed commitments are fulfilled, particularly by pressing Israel to withdraw from occupied areas in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese presidency says.
Aoun also tells Trump in a phone call that Lebanon will assume its responsibilities in implementing the framework agreement, the presidency adds in a statement, which makes no mention of Hezbollah or disarming the Iran-backed terrorist group.
The statement adds that Trump indicated that he would soon host Aoun in Washington for a meeting.
There is no immediate statement on the call from the White House.
Netanyahu maintains Israel ‘created conditions’ for Iranian regime to fall, claims protests taking place ‘today’
Wrapping up his Hebrew-language press conference, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu touts Israel’s military achievements against Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and in Iran, asserting that Jerusalem “created conditions” for the regime in Tehran to eventually fall.
Repeating a claim he made last week, Netanyahu says that Israel “created conditions” for regime change in Iran through the US-Israeli campaign there, saying the current circumstances “will ultimately enable the Iranian people to do what I believe will happen: bring down this regime.”
“That will not happen in a single day. There are demonstrations in Iran today — today,” he says.
It is not immediately clear what Netanyahu is referring to. There have not been recent reports of major, organized mass demonstrations inside Iran, though there are reports of some localized protests against the government, primarily by university students protesting wartime education policies.
On Gaza, Netanyahu says the IDF “dismantled most of Hamas’s military capabilities,” adding that the recent assassination of Hamas leader Izz al-Din al-Haddad several weeks ago drew “not even a single bullet, not a bullet, not a missile,” in response.
“True, their civilian capabilities remain, and we still have work to do,” he says of the Gazan terror group, “but it is an enormous achievement.”
It’s unclear what the premier means by “civilian capabilities.” Hamas gunmen still patrol the streets of Gaza’s cities and it has refused to agree to any disarmament plan that would see it give up its remaining arsenal.
Netanyahu: Opposition to Palestinian state, desire to avert ‘civil war’ can form base of broad government I lead
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argues that there is “broad agreement” on several issues that would help create the “broad national government” he hopes to form, pointing to what he says is a growing public consensus against Palestinian statehood and a shared desire to avoid “civil war” over divisive domestic issues such as Haredi enlistment.
“In my view, there is far more unity among the people than what you see in the Knesset. Much more. I believe there is broad agreement on many issues,” he says during his press conference, in response to a question on his call for a wider governing coalition.
He points to two areas where he says such agreement can be found: opposition to a two-state solution and the need to prevent internal violence.
He says “another principle of the broad national government that I intend to lead” is that “there is no room for two states.”
“Now, if you had asked me three years ago, before the [October 7, 2023, Hamas-led invasion and massacre,] the public was divided on this issue. In my opinion, most of the public was opposed, but a significant portion supported it. I think that has changed. That is a basis for agreement,” he says.
“There is another basis for agreement as well. People do not want to see a civil war. I am certain of that. There are those who are trying to inflame it and deepen the divisions within the public. I want to do everything possible to calm things down,” he says.
He refers to reported incidents of threats of violence against Haredi demonstrators during recent mass protests against ultra-Orthodox conscription: “Someone pulled out a gun, and I believe a woman was injured. We do not want to get there.” He doesn’t mention violence by Haredi protesters, including the attacks on the home of Deputy Supreme Court Chief Justice Noam Sohlberg and other top officials involved in enforcing the law against draft evaders.
“And I am convinced that there is room to reach understandings and a much broader consensus on many of these issues,” he says.
Netanyahu attacks Eisenkot as he touts operations against Hamas and Hezbollah since Oct. 7
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attacks the ostensible security positions of former IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot, casting his rising election rival as too politically cautious to have ordered key operations that, the premier says, have reshaped the battlefield against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Asked at his press conference to respond to recent criticism by Eisenkot of his handling of Lebanon, Netanyahu argues that the Yashar party leader and his political allies had opposed key wartime moves, including the IDF’s entry into Rafah, its seizure of the Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border, and its expanded operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“I remember what Gadi Eisenkot said, and what others said, when we were still in Gaza.… They said we should stop while we were still in Khan Younis. Not enter Rafah. Not take control of the Philadelphi Corridor. They said we should simply make a deal, bring out the hostages, and leave Gaza – leave all of Gaza. And then, two or three years later, we could come back to it,” he says.
Following that advice, Netanyahu claims, would have meant that “all of Hamas” and top officials assassinated by Israel during the war “would still be there, still alive, still in control.”
He says this also would have prevented the IDF from expanding operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, as it did in late 2024, nearly a year after the Lebanese terror group first began attacking Israel in support of Hamas:
“It also means that we never would have entered Lebanon at all. We would not have carried out the [2024 beeper] operation. We would not have eliminated [former Hezbollah leader Nassan] Nasrallah. We would not have destroyed 90 percent of Hezbollah’s missile stockpile. We would have left all of Radwan Force’s terror tunnels right here on the border,” Netanyahu says, adding that recent expansions of the southern Lebanon security zone also wouldn’t have been carried out.
“So from the perspective reflected by Gadi Eisenkot and his colleagues, they essentially wanted us to end up with nothing,” he says. “Today, we control nearly 70 percent of the Gaza Strip. We are squeezing Hamas. And we are holding this strong security zone in Lebanon.”
Netanyahu charges that in order “to preserve his political future,” Eisenkot would never have been willing to act more aggressively militarily on these fronts.
“I believe the right thing to do is whatever is necessary to ensure Israel’s security and the security of the north. The alternative was to leave 150,000 rockets and missiles in Lebanon,” he says, adding that today there are “kilometers upon kilometers of tunnels there. And today we are destroying them. So I am doing what is right.”
Netanyahu says he plans to send delegation to DC to express Israel’s concerns over US-Iran deal it was excluded from
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that he intends to send a delegation to Washington to clarify Israel’s security interests regarding the nuclear provisions of any US-Iran deal.
“We said from the outset that we were not a party to the agreement between the United States and Iran. But that does not mean we do not have interests,” Netanyahu says during his press conference, in response to a question on the US-Iran memorandum of understanding and talks on a long-term agreement.
“We have interests, and we will make them known. Incidentally, even on the central issue — the nuclear issue — I intend to send a delegation to Washington to clarify what Israel’s interests are,” he says, without elaborating on the timing of the delegation’s departure, which officials will take part, or who they will meet.
He reiterates that he is also “standing firm” on maintaining Israel’s security zone in southern Lebanon, adding that he spoke several times recently with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who he says “has effectively given the United States’ backing to this concept of a security zone that prevents Iran and Hezbollah from attacking us.”
Palestinian teen reportedly suffers head injury during settler attack
The Red Crescent says it treated a 16-year-old boy who was struck by a stone after settlers attacked him near the Awarta checkpoint in the Nablus area.
According to the statement, he sustained a head injury and was evacuated to a hospital. No further details about the attack are currently known.
Police locate lifeless bodies of 2 girls swept away by Jordan River
Police say rescuers have recovered the lifeless bodies of two girls who were swept away in the Jordan River earlier today,
A police statement says one of the girls was 13 years old, but doesn’t otherwise provide any identifying information.
Netanyahu claims he wants ‘broad national government,’ falsely says Haredi draft evaders being arrested at yeshivas
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he intends to form a “broad national government” and to reach an agreement on Haredi military service, as his coalition teeters over ultra-Orthodox demands for legislation preserving draft exemptions for yeshiva students.
Asked at his press conference whether he intends to advance legislation exempting Haredim from the military draft to satisfy his ultra-Orthodox allies — and potentially buy more time before the Knesset is dissolved — Netanyahu insists that he is seeking to form a coalition that reaches “broad agreements” on contentious issues, including the Haredi draft, despite polls showing he has no clear path to forming a right-wing coalition that would give him a Knesset majority and allow him to remain in power.
“There are forces among us that want to bring about a rupture within our society, that want to exacerbate and deepen misunderstandings, disagreements and divisions among us. And I think that is a terrible mistake,” he asserts.
“I intend to establish a broad national government. Not a narrow government, not a left-wing government that would be dependent on Arab parties, but a broad national government. Because only in that way, I believe, can we reach agreements among ourselves,” he continues, without mentioning the “narrow” coalition of solely right-religious he currently leads.
“I don’t boycott anyone. I say that everyone can join — they simply have to agree to our basic principles: that Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people; that we respect individual rights; that we have a free and technologically advanced economy; that we have the ability to defend ourselves,” the premier says.
Netanyahu adds that he seeks an “agreement on the issue of [Haredi] military service,” saying he thinks “this is possible, and I intend to do it.”
He says it would be counterproductive to send police into “Haredi hesder” yeshivas to arrest students for not drafting, as this would simply prevent Haredi men from ever wanting to serve: “We have seen an enormous response from the Haredi public. Young Haredi men want to enlist. But when arrests are carried out in places of Torah study, it produces the opposite result,” he claims, though there have been no such reported arrest operations.
“If I told you that in some country in Europe, police were entering yeshivas, taking young men studying Torah, and putting them in prison, you would be shocked,” he says.
While certain exemptions should be made for those studying Torah, he says, “anyone who is not studying Torah can be subject to the full force of the law, including arrest. That is clear.”
“This will be my policy – to establish a broad national government and to try to reach broad understandings on all these issues, because we still have much work to do,” he says.
Former IAF general running in Democrats primary says next gov’t will ensure all Israelis perform national service
Maj. Gen. (ret.) Nimrod Sheffer, a candidate in the left-leaning Democrats party’s July 20 primary, says the next government will ensure all Israelis perform national service.
Speaking at a poorly attended weekly anti-government protest in Tel Aviv, Sheffer accuses the government of not advancing equal military conscription in order to safeguard the coalition, whose ultra-Orthodox members demand codification of their community’s blanket exemption from the draft.
“Israel needs equality, in both rights and burdens, like it needs air,” he tells the roughly 250 people assembled at Habima Square, roughly half the usual recent attendance.
“We’ll ensure in the next government that all segments of Israeli society will contribute their share in military or civil service,” he says.
Sheffer says “our struggle” is “not ‘against,’ but ‘in favor.'”
“In favor of the rule of law; in favor of equality in the state of Israel; in favor of the belonging of all of us… to the Israeli civic covenant,” Sheffer says.
The former Air Force general, whose party comprises what remains of Israel’s historic left-wing Zionist factions, makes no explicit mention of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Other speakers at the rally also rail against the Haredi exemption from the draft.
“To all the draft dodgers, you should know — you’ll be drafted whether you like it or not,” says Eliad Shraga, head of the Movement for Quality Government anti-corruption watchdog, which has organized the Habima demonstration in recent weeks.
Looking out on the sparse crowd, Shraga says: “It’s true, we’re few at the square today.”
Eyal Eshel, whose daughter Roni was killed at the Nahal Oz IDF base in the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023, concurs.
“Maybe there aren’t many people at the square today, but the voice of sanity… will win and set the tone for years to come,” he says.
Video shows brawl between security guards, returning travelers at Ben Gurion Airport baggage claim
A mass brawl broke out at Ben Gurion Airport’s baggage claim over the weekend between airport security guards and Israelis returning from abroad, as the summer travel season picks up.
According to Hebrew reports, the fisticuffs took place when travelers awaiting their luggage Friday evening started to complain about receiving subpar service from airport employees, with anxieties rising as Shabbat began and transit options thin out.
In footage from the scene, travelers are seen embroiled in a fight, at the center of which one man puts another in a headlock and brings him to the floor. Others, including a group of airport security guards, rush toward the men and quickly become embroiled in the scuffle in the middle of the baggage claim hall.
Guards manage to restrain one of those involved and pin him to the ground. A man armed with an assault rifle, apparently an airport security guard, is then seen pointing his firearm at the subdued man and ordering him not to move.
Police have not yet commented on the incident.
קורה עכשיו: אירוע אלימות חריג בנתב״ג בין אזרחים לעובדי אבטחה בעקבות עיכוב בהגעת המזוודות ״נכנס שבת ולא היה להם מזוודות אז אנשים איבדו את זה״: עם נשקים שלופים עובדי אבטחה נאלצו להגן על עצמם באירוע אלים לפני זמן קצר בשדה התעופה בן גוריון, לאחר שאזרחים שהגיעו מטיול חיכו שעות להגעת… pic.twitter.com/gmeOXxKGcy
— daniel amram – דניאל עמרם (@danielamram3) June 26, 2026
Netanyahu: IDF can strike emerging and immediate threats in Lebanon under new framework
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserts that Israel has freedom of action “to thwart any threats to IDF soldiers” in Lebanon, including what are defined as “emerging” threats, under the new US-brokered framework with Beirut.
“Our freedom of action is the freedom to thwart any threats to IDF soldiers. That is a clear directive [to IDF soldiers]. I have said it and repeated it: If you see a threat, act. Not only do you have the right to act — you have an obligation to act against an immediate threat,” the premier says during his Hebrew-language press conference.
Netanyahu claims that “when questions arose as to whether this remained in effect or not,” apparently referring to recent negotiations on the Lebanon ceasefire, he met with Defense Minister Israel Katz and with IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir to ensure that it would be emphasized as a priority.
“Under these directives,” he says, 200 Hezbollah terrorists have been killed over the past two weeks, including in incidents where there was not “an immediate threat in the sense of something right next to you,” but where soldiers identified emerging threats, such as when a group of troops “spotted seven [Hezbollah] terrorists entering a building.”
Netanyahu has reiterated that soldiers are free to respond to both immediate and emerging threats in recent days, after the US decided to include a ceasefire in Lebanon as part of the memorandum of understanding it reached last week with Iran, under which Jerusalem’s freedom of action was reportedly to become much more limited.
Ben Gvir slams Israel-Lebanon deal as ‘major mistake,’ demands PM hold cabinet vote
National Security Minster Itamar Ben Gvir decries the US-brokered deal between Israel and Lebanon as “a major mistake,” demanding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bring it to the cabinet for a vote.
“While we will remain in most of the territory [of the buffer zone] for the moment, the government of Lebanon won’t disarm Hezbollah,” Ben Gvir, who heads the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, says in a statement. “Only IDF soldiers will destroy Hezbollah, no one else will do it for us.”
Israel said bracing for Hezbollah attacks aimed at undermining deal between Jerusalem and Beirut
Israel is bracing for the possibility that the Hezbollah terror group will launch attacks on IDF forces or Israeli communities in the coming days in an attempt to undermine the newly signed framework deal between Beirut and Jerusalem, Channel 12 and Ynet report this evening.
Defense officials tell Channel 12 that Israel is prepared for such an eventuality, and warn of “a severe and significant response” to any Hezbollah attack.
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem earlier said that the agreement signed in Washington was “null,” a “humiliation” and a surrender of sovereignty.
A security official speaking to Ynet says an attack on Israeli territory might not necessarily lead to an Israeli strike in Beirut’s Dahiyeh. Israel previously adopted a policy of hitting the Hezbollah stronghold in response to any such attack. An Israeli strike in the Lebanese capital could lead Iran to attack Israel and devolve into a regional escalation.
“It will be assessed on a case-by-case basis,” the official says. “If Israeli communities come under attack, a decision will be made on how to respond. Dahiyeh may also become a target, but that is not an automatic response.”
Netanyahu: Deal tells Iran and Hezbollah they have ‘no role in Lebanon,’ and that Israel can keep security zone as long as needed
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hails yesterday’s framework agreement with Lebanon as “a historic achievement for Israel” that advances progress toward ending the bilateral conflict and opens the prospect of “an eventual peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon.”
Speaking at a press conference, Netanyahu says the deal is “a major blow” to Iran and to Hezbollah, and claims it marks US and Lebanese agreement to Israel holding a security zone in Lebanon for as long as is needed for Israeli security.
“We’ll continue to hold it until Hezbollah and other terror groups are disarmed,” he says of the current security zone, “until there is no longer a threat to Israel from Lebanon.”
He says Iran wanted to impose an Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon, but that he resisted this, and notes bitter Iranian and Hezbollah criticism of the agreement.
With this accord, he claims, Israel, Lebanon and the US “are essentially telling Iran, ‘This is none of your business. You have no status here, no involvement and no role. Not you, not Hezbollah, not any terror group.'”
He acknowledges that Israel will be withdrawing from two small areas it currently holds, in a pilot project for disarming Hezbollah and transferring territory to the Lebanese Army. Showing the areas on a map, he says one is completely outside the security zone, and the other is on the edge of the zone in an area the IDF no longer needs to hold.
Thus, he says, Israel is retaining the entire security zone area that it needs to protect northern Israel.
Lebanon reports 1 killed, 2 wounded after Israeli strikes on southern town
Israeli airstrikes on the southern Lebanese town of Nabatieh al-Fawqa killed at least one person and wounded two more, the health ministry says.
The ministry’s emergency operations center gives the toll shortly after Lebanon’s state news agency reported that Nabatieh al-Fawqa had been hit by drones and warplanes.
IDF confirms killing nephew of ex-Hamas chief Haniyeh, says he commanded terrorists on Oct. 7
A Hamas terrorist who invaded Israel during the October 7, 2023, onslaught, the nephew of former Hamas politburo leader Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in an Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, the military announces.
The strike killed Walid Haniyeh, the deputy commander of a Nukhba Force company in Hamas’s military wing.
The IDF says Haniyeh commanded the infiltration of terrorists into Israel on October 7, and as such, he “was involved in directing and providing operational instructions to the terrorist cell as they took Israeli civilians hostage into the Gaza Strip.”
Recently, he worked to recruit new Hamas operatives, along with commanding military training for Nukhba terrorists, the IDF adds.
????ELIMINATED: Walid Haniyeh, the Deputy Commander of a Nukhba company in Hamas’ military wing.
Haniyeh commanded the infiltration of a terrorist cell into Israeli territory during the October 7 Massacre. Additionally, he attempted to operate to recruit additional terrorists to… pic.twitter.com/lwzfqZc8be
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) June 27, 2026
Lebanese army vows to maintain public order after Hezbollah street protests
The Lebanese military vows to maintain public order, after Hezbollah supporters staged street protests against the government’s signing of an agreement with Israel.
“The army command will not allow any breach of security or threat to civil peace through actions with unpredictable consequences, road blockages, or attacks on public or private property,” the army says.
Serbian President Vucic announces he’ll resign within weeks, declares early elections
Serbia’s president Aleksandar Vucic says he will resign within weeks and announces early presidential and parliamentary elections.
“I will be president for only a couple of weeks, and then I will resign,” Vucic tells his supporters at a pro-government rally in the capital, Belgrade. Vucic’s second and last mandate expires in mid-2027.
Israeli envoy to US reportedly yelled while pushing Netanyahu to back Lebanon deal
Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter pressed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to back the US-mediated agreement with Lebanon that was finalized in Washington yesterday, at one point even yelling during the conference call, Channel 12 news reports.
“This is an important achievement. We need to sign it,” Leiter is quoted as telling Netanyahu, who the report says was ultimately convinced to support the deal.
The report cites a source close to Leiter, insisting he yelled because other people around him were making noise and it was hard to hear on the line.
Meanwhile, Leiter says in a statement that in one of the update calls to Israel, “a professional, substantive, and even sharp discussion took place, in which a range of views were expressed regarding the best way to maximize the achievements of the negotiations, while fully safeguarding Israel’s vital interests. Exchanges of views in such discussions are a natural part of the decision-making process.”
Confirming The Times of Israel’s own reporting, Axios says both sides came to the week’s talks in a sour mood, incensed by the US allowing Iran a role in Lebanon in the memorandum of understanding signed last week between Washington and Tehran. A senior American official says the first day of the talks on Tuesday “was pretty ugly.”
By Wednesday the atmosphere had improved and negotiations made progress, with the Americans believing the sides were close to signing, but both the Israeli and Lebanese governments hit the brakes on Thursday, retreating from previous understandings regarding the scope of the Israeli troop withdrawal in southern Lebanon.
The talks were then extended into Friday, and Channel 12 said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio put pressure on both sides to soften their positions, telling them it was “important” for President Trump that they reach a deal.
Eventually, after the reported tense call with Leiter, Netanyahu approved the deal.
Separately, the network quotes an Israeli source saying that Lebanon’s government and army will need to prove themselves in the areas where the IDF is withdrawing from before pulling back from any additional areas, saying that “if they don’t succeed… we won’t continue” with further withdrawals.
Lebanon reports Israeli strikes in south of country
Israeli forces carried out drone and airstrikes in southern Lebanon, Lebanon’s state news agency reports, a day after the countries signed a agreement to pave the way to peace talks.
According to the National News Agency (NNA), Israeli warplanes hit an unidentified target in Nabatieh al-Fawqa at around 6:30 p.m. local time. Earlier in the afternoon, drones carried out four strikes on the town square and the Al-Manzala neighborhood.
Katz hails deal with Lebanon as ‘a strategic blow to the Iranian axis’
Defense Minister Israel Katz hails the “historic” deal between Israel and Lebanon signed yesterday, saying it “may, for the first time in decades, shape a new and safer reality along the northern border and in Lebanon.”
He says that the IDF will not be entirely withdrawing from Lebanon, as he previously pledged, and the military will maintain its security zone, including the Beaufort Castle ridge area.
“The test will be the implementation of the agreement, and many challenges are still expected,” Katz says, adding that he instructed the military to “prepare for a prolonged stay in the security zone and to make the necessary preparations to protect IDF soldiers and remove threats to the communities in the north.”
“The important principle established in the agreement is that there will be… no withdrawal whatsoever as long as the Hezbollah terror organization has not been disarmed throughout Lebanon,” he says.
He says the agreement “also constitutes a strategic blow to the Iranian axis.”
“Iran attempted to force Israel to withdraw from Lebanon through threats and pressure on the United States, and failed,” Katz says.
He also warns Tehran, saying that “If Iran attempts to attack Israel to prevent the implementation of the agreement, we will act against it with great force.”
Iran reports inflation spiked 88.6% this month compared to previous year
Inflation in Iran rose sharply in June, driven by the Middle East war, reaching a peak of 88.6 percent year-on-year, according to official figures.
According to the Statistical Centre of Iran, during the Persian month of Khordad (May 22–June 21), food prices more than doubled year-on-year. Even before the war, Iran was plagued by high inflation.
Search efforts underway in north as 2 girls swept away by Jordan River
First responders are carrying out searches after two girls were swept away by the Jordan River near the northern community of Lehavot HaBashan.
A statement from the Israel Fire and Rescue Services says the country’s elite unit for rescue missions is assisting in the search efforts “due to the complexities of the incident.”
Two Gazan siblings reported killed in strike that IDF says targeted Hamas operative
An Israeli drone strike kills two Palestinian siblings, including a 15-year-old girl, in southern Gaza and wounds at least seven others, according to Nasser hospital, where the casualties are taken.
The strike targeted tents sheltering displaced Palestinians in the sprawling camp of Muwasi, reportedly killing 15-year-old Islam Moussa and her 30-year-old brother, Abdullah Moussa.
The Israeli military acknowledges it had struck the area of Muwasi, saying it targeted a Hamas terrorist, but doesn’t immediately provide more information.
???? NEW: Israeli Strikes on Displacement Tents Kill 4 in Gaza, Including 2 Children
Israeli strikes on tents sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis and Gaza City killed 4 Palestinians, including two children, and wounded more than 17 others on Saturday, as Israel continued… https://t.co/PWu4NogPR0
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) June 27, 2026
Also, on Saturday, Palestinians report hearing a loud boom in Gaza City.
The Israeli military struck a tent sheltering displaced Palestinians in western Gaza City, wounding at least 12 people, according to Shifa hospital. The ambulance service of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society says two people are critically wounded and the majority of those hurt are women.
The Israeli military doesn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
https://x.com/RamAbdu/status/2070911809087811893?s=20
Hezbollah chief says Israel-Lebanon deal ‘null,’ should be replaced by US-Iran MOU
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem says that the Israel-Lebanon framework agreement signed in Washington is “null,” a “humiliation” and a surrender of sovereignty, and should be replaced by the Iran-US memorandum.
Qassem says in a statement that any attempt to link Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon to the terror group’s disarmament crossed “red lines.”
He accuses Lebanese authorities of “legitimizing” Israeli occupation through this “grave blunder.”
AFP and the Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Senior Iranian official vows ‘swift and decisive’ response to alleged US violations of deal
A senior Iranian official vows a “swift and decisive” response to what he calls violations by the United States of the memorandum of understanding.
“America, by supporting the actions of its proxy forces in the region, has violated the first article of the memorandum of understanding, and by continuing to create tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, has violated the fifth article,” Mohsen Rezaei, a member of the Expediency Discernment Council, which is appointed by the supreme leader, writes on X.
Rezaei appears to refer to Israeli strikes in Lebanon against Hezbollah, and strikes on Iran last night that came in response to an Iranian attack on a cargo ship in the Hormuz.
“The response to the violation of any article of the memorandum of understanding will be swift and decisive,” Rezaei says.
Israeli drone strike reported in southern Lebanon, day after framework deal signed
An Israeli drone struck the Nabatieh area in southern Lebanon, Lebanon’s state news agency says.
The reported strike came a day after Israel and Lebanon signed a US-brokered framework agreement that will see the Israel Defense Forces begin to withdraw from small parts of southern Lebanon, amid the ongoing fighting between the Jewish state and the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Tanker hit by unidentified projectile in Hormuz, British maritime agency says
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A tanker has reported being struck by an unidentified projectile in the Strait of Hormuz, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations says.
The vessel sustained damage to its bridge, but all crew were reported safe, and no environmental damage had been reported at the time of the report, UKMTO adds.
Iran fires several drones at Bahrain in first tit-for-tat strikes with US since deal signed
MANAMA, Bahrain — Bahrain’s foreign ministry says that it had been targeted by several Iranian drones, accusing Tehran of sabotaging peace efforts after the United States and Iran traded strikes for the first time since signing an agreement to end the Middle East war.
The ministry expresses Bahrain’s “strongest condemnation of the targeting of its territory at dawn today by several Iranian drones, in flagrant violation of its sovereignty,” saying Iran’s attacks were “sabotaging peace efforts.”
Iran on Saturday accused the US of violating the peace deal agreed to end the conflict, after Washington launched strikes on Iranian territory and Tehran said it had responded with attacks on US targets in the Gulf.
Drone hits Iranian Kurdish opposition camp in Iraq — security sources
An explosive drone targeted a camp belonging to an Iranian Kurdish opposition group north of Iraq’s Erbil, security sources tell Reuters.
There are no immediate reports of casualties.
Lockdown lifted in West Bank settlement after IDF says it found no terror suspects
After over six hours of searches in the West Bank settlement of Beit Aryeh, following a suspected terrorist infiltration, the IDF has given residents the “all-clear.”
Residents are now permitted to leave their homes.
The IDF says it scanned the area for two suspects, but none were found.
“The incident has concluded, there is no fear of a security incident,” the IDF says.
West Bank settlement on lockdown for over six hours due to suspected terrorist infiltration
Residents of the West Bank settlement of Beit Aryeh have been on lockdown since 4:30 a.m., following a suspected terrorist infiltration.
The military says it dispatched troops to search for two suspects identified in the area, while residents were ordered to remain locked in their homes until further notice.
However, six hours later, the IDF has yet to issue an all-clear.
Iran denounces ‘brutal attacks’ by US as ‘blatant violation’ of MOU
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran accuses the United States of a “blatant violation” of the peace deal reached between the two sides to end the Middle East war after the latest American strikes on the country.
“These brutal attacks, which targeted Iranian coastal surveillance facilities, are a blatant violation” of the memorandum of understanding to end the war, the Iranian Foreign Ministry says in a statement.
The US military said its forces struck Iranian missile and drone storage sites and coastal radar locations on Friday in response to an Iranian attack on a cargo ship transiting the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s stoppage-time goal disallowed in 1-1 draw with Egypt
SEATTLE — Iran has a stoppage-time goal disallowed and settles for a 1-1 draw with Egypt in an intense final Group G game at Seattle Stadium.
Defender Shojae Khalilzadeh appears to have scored the game-winning goal three minutes into second-half stoppage time when he finds the back of the net following a flurry of shots at Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shoubir. However, after a VAR review, Khalilzadeh is ruled to have been narrowly offside.
Iran, seeking to advance out of the group stage for the first time, finishes third in the group (0-0-3, 3 points) and now must wait to learn their fate. Iran is sixth in the third-place table, where the top eight go through, and still stands a very strong chance of advancing.
Egypt would have topped the group with a win today, but settled for second with Belgium beating New Zealand 5-1. Egypt (1-0-2) and Belgium (1-0-2) each have five points, but Belgium tops the group on goal differential (plus-4 to plus-2).
Instead of returning to Seattle on July 1 for their round of 32 game, Egypt will travel to Arlington, Texas, to play Australia on July 3. The “Pharaohs” are undefeated through three matches and have advanced out of the group stage for the first time in their World Cup history.
Despite objections, rainbow flags dot Iran-Egypt match as Seattle celebrates Pride during World Cup
Rainbow flags flutter among the sea of Iranian and Egyptian banners at Seattle’s World Cup stadium, as teams from two of the most repressive countries for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people take to the field.
It was just a coincidence that the city’s “Pride Match” ended up as a high-stakes matchup between Iran and Egypt — with advancement from Group G still up in the air — and it came with plenty of pushback from both countries. But Seattle officials and its soccer community say the distinctive pairing was an opportunity to showcase the city’s inclusivity as well as the common ground that can be found at the World Cup.
Some milled about the stadium with Pride Match scarves, while others had painted their faces with rainbows or clutched free flags handed out by a human rights organization. A man heading to his seat held a large sign that spelled out PRIDE as an acronym: “Proud, Respectful, Inclusive, Diverse, Egyptian.”
Stacy Harbour works for an LGBTQ+ nonprofit invited by the local organizing committee and brought 20 young people to the match, handing them “goody bags” filled with Pride face paint, flags and headbands. Harbour says she’s glad these two countries are the ones competing.
“There are groups of folks that live here in Seattle that are of Egyptian, Iranian descent. This is their opportunity to represent their intersectional identities,” she said. “This is an opportunity to show the world what Seattle is. And Seattle is an inclusive city. We always have been, we always will be.”
Same-sex relations are illegal in Iran, where gay men have been executed on sodomy charges, while Egypt has prosecuted gay and lesbian people and suppressed outward expressions of gay pride, including rainbow flags. The countries complained to FIFA in December about the “Pride Match” and asked that the celebrations be canceled. In a statement Friday, Iran’s federation said it had made its position clear to FIFA in multiple letters and meetings and was assured “that no ceremonies or promotional activities related to this issue will take place inside the stadium or as part of the official match programme.”
“Iran and Egypt are two Muslim countries with deep cultural and religious commonalities, and the views expressed by both federations reflect the shared values and beliefs of the people of the two nations,” Iran’s federation said.
The pre-match festivities on the field did not include any references to Pride. But FIFA treats the rainbow flag as a statement of human rights, according to Hana Tadesse, a spokesperson for Seattle’s World Cup organizing committee, and allowed fans to wave it inside the stadium.
Mamdani condemns swastika graffiti while ignoring massive outcry over his Israel lobby comments
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemns an incident of swastika graffiti, while ignoring widespread Jewish community fears over his own rhetoric.
Mamdani says a swastika carved into a car in Manhattan “is a despicable act of antisemitism.”
“It is a hateful attack of intimidation on our Jewish neighbors and on the values that make our city what it is,” he says in a statement.
“To every Jewish New Yorker: your city stands with you. We will confront acts of antisemitism wherever they appear with urgency and without exception.”
The statement comes after more than 700 rabbis issued an open letter earlier today saying Mamdani had “put a target on the backs of American Jews” in a speech last week.
In that speech, he likened the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC to “monsters” channeling “millions in dark money” to “preserve their power,” enact genocide and foment societal divisions.
National Jewish groups, the chair of the city’s Jewish caucus and antisemitism task force, and some leftist Jews who are more sympathetic to Mamdani all decried the comments as discriminatory toward Jews.
He doubled down on the statements earlier this week and has not issued further comment since.
Swastika graffiti turns up regularly around New York.
Mamdani also endorsed a Congressional candidate, Darializa Avila Chevalier, who won her primary this week after attending a rally that celebrated the October 2023 Hamas onslaught in Israel the day after it happened and refused to condemn Hamas during her campaign.
Revolutionary Guards say they targeted US sites in Gulf after strikes on Iran
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says it attacked US sites in the Gulf region in retaliation to American strikes in Iran, according to state television.
“If the aggression is repeated, our response will be broader than this,” the IRGC says according to a post by state TV on Telegram.
‘Violence will be met with violence’: Vance tells Iran to ‘pick up the phone’ if there is a disagreement on MOU
US Vice President JD Vance says that “violence will be met with violence” after the US struck Iran in the wake of an attack on a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.
“If they have disagreements about how the MOU is being applied, they can pick up the phone,” Vance said on X.
Hezbollah supporters ride motorcycles through Beirut to protest Israel-Lebanon deal
Hezbollah supporters take to the streets of Beirut in protest of an agreement announced between Israel and Lebanon hours earlier, state media and an AFP correspondent say.
The state-run National News Agency (NNA) reports that “Hezbollah supporters rode motorbikes through the streets of Beirut” including a central area near the parliament and along a road leading to the airport “in protest at the framework agreement announced between Lebanon and Israel,” adding that they have blocked at least one road with burning tires.
An AFP correspondent reports seeing people on motorcycles riding and chanting slogans along one road as well as Lebanese army temporary checkpoints set up along several streets of the capital.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards threaten ‘swift and decisive’ response to US strikes
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says its response to a fresh US attack against Iran will be “swift and decisive,” Iran’s state TV reports.
The IRGC says it repelled an attack by the US against Sirik Island, which is located on the shores of the Strait of Hormuz.
US says it struck Iran targets after attack on cargo ship
US Central Command (CENTCOM) says its forces conducted strikes against Iran earlier this evening in response to an attack on a commercial ship that was transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
“US aircraft struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites after Iran hit M/V Ever Lovely on June 25 with a one-way attack drone.”
“The Singapore-flagged cargo ship was exiting the Strait of Hormuz along the Omani coast at the time of Iran’s attack.”
“The unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces clearly violated the ceasefire,” CENTCOM says.
“Furthermore, Iran’s dangerous behavior undermined freedom of navigation as commerce increasingly flows through the vital international trade corridor.”