Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Sunday, June 21, 2026
From the Liveblog of
Sunday, June 21, 2026
Hezbollah chief rejects any Israeli security zone in Lebanon
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Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem delivers a speech broadcast on June 17, 2026. (Screenshot/Al Manar via X)
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem rejects any Israeli security zone in Lebanon, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed troops would remain in the country’s south for as long as necessary.
Israeli troops “remaining on Lebanese land is impossible. There are no security zones for Israel… we have a national army which deploys, and it is responsible for preserving sovereignty, and it is who we cooperate with,” Qassem says in a televised address, adding that “Israel is an aggressor and must leave.”
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