Israel News for 6-22-2026
News Update
As talks between the U.S. and Iran proceeded in Switzerland, last night Prime Minister Netanyahu said, “We established a security zone in Lebanon. And we shall keep it as long as is necessary to protect our people.” He added, “no matter what happens in the talks, with an agreement or without an agreement, Iran will never have nuclear weapons as long as I am prime minister of Israel.”
Defense Minister Israel Katz echoed the remarks, writing on X that “Israel has no intention of withdrawing from Beaufort, which is an inseparable part of the security zone in Lebanon and is vital for the defense of the Galilee communities and IDF forces. As Prime Minister Netanyahu and I have made clear, Israel will not withdraw from the security zone in Lebanon.”
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s LBCI network reported that, “Lebanon was informed by the American side that Israel will carry out limited withdrawals from southern Lebanon as a goodwill gesture ahead of the round of negotiations between the countries on Tuesday.”
In Switzerland, the U.S. and Iran have reportedly created a “de-confliction cell” for the Lebanon conflict and also said a line of communication between Iran and the U.S. had been formed to avoid incidents and enable safe passage for commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz. This comes in the wake of President Trump’s post last night: “Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble. If they don’t, we’ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!”
On Sunday, five of the soldiers killed over the weekend in southern Lebanon were laid to rest: Sgt. Maj. Liav Kababia, 20; Sgt. Maj. Yoav Klein, 21; and Sgt. Maj. Nave Habshoosh,20, who were killed in the tank disaster near the village of Tebnine; Staff Sgt. Maj. Alexander Filin, 29, who was killed by an explosive device in the village of al-Taybe; and Staff Sgt. Maj. Nir Ben Ari, 21, who was killed by Hezbollah rocket fire and explosive drones. To read more about them, click here.
