Israel rejects withdrawal from Lebanon ahead of Geneva talks
Shafaq News- Beirut
Israel "will not withdraw from the security zone in Lebanon," Defense Minister Israel Katz declared on Sunday, as US-Iran negotiations opened in Geneva with the Lebanese file at the top of the agenda.
"There was and is no restriction on the Israeli soldiers in Lebanon from operating to remove threats," Katz said, adding that all of the “achievements” in the campaign in Lebanon are being maintained. The ceasefire announced Saturday, he said, leaves the army in all positions within the security zone that protects the northern communities, a deployment Israel has no intention of reversing.
Hezbollah held Israel fully responsible for violating the ceasefire, calling on the United States and other countries to pressure Israel into compliance. The group's operations room stated that its fighters are "in full readiness to defend their land, whatever the sacrifices."
Hours after the ceasefire announcement, the Lebanese Army engineering units started defusing unexploded aerial bombs weighing between 1,000 and 2,000 pounds in the towns of Tibnin and Khirbet Silm in the Bint Jbeil district, and Majdal Silm, Debin, and Blat in the Marjayoun district, transferring them to safe locations. The army said units worked to "open main and secondary roads in Debin and Blat," and urged residents to exercise caution before returning to southern border villages, citing the danger of "Israeli violations and aggressions" and unexploded ordnance.
واصلت وحدات مختصة من الجيش تفكيك قنابل طيران غير منفجرة من مخلفات العدوان الإسرائيلي (زنة ألف باوند وألفَي باوند) في بلدات: تبنين وخربة سلم (بنت جبيل) ومجدل سلم ودبين وبلاط (مرجعيون)، وعملت على نقلها إلى مواقع آمنة لإجراء اللازم بشأنها، حفاظًا على سلامة المواطنين في المناطق… pic.twitter.com/XK9p8W8GIn
— الجيش اللبناني (@LebarmyOfficial) June 21, 2026
4,057 Lebanese killed in Israeli strikes and 12,121 wounded since March 2 through Saturday, according to Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health. Israeli army figures recorded 30 soldiers killed and dozens wounded since the start of operations, including seven deaths since Thursday.
In Geneva, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ismail Baqaei confirmed that Iran would not advance to the next phase of nuclear and sanctions talks with Washington before a ceasefire in Lebanon is reached, directly linking the nuclear diplomacy track to conditions on the ground in southern Lebanon.
