Lebanon says 18 killed in strikes, Israel reports deaths of 4 soldiers

Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one. Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective. First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming. Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day. Science For All The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in! Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers THEdge At the cutting edge of education and careers Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there Gender Agenda Stories from beyond the binary. The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features. Published - June 19, 2026 03:45 pm IST - Beirut Smoke rises to the sky in an area near Beaufort Castle following an Israeli military strike in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Friday, June 19, 2026. | Photo Credit: AP Lebanon said 18 people were killed on Friday (June 19, 2026) in Israeli airstrikes in the south, while Israel's military reported its first soldiers killed there since the sealing of a U.S.-Iran deal to halt the war in West Asia, including in Lebanon. Israel had said it was striking Hezbollah targets overnight and into the morning, while the Iran-backed militant group said it was attacking Israeli forces around the southern town of Nabatieh. "The intensive Israeli airstrikes carried out from midnight until this morning have prevented the evacuation of the martyrs and wounded, and have resulted in a preliminary toll of 18 martyrs and 33 wounded" in at least 10 villages and towns, the Lebanese Health Ministry said. The strikes were the deadliest since Iran and the United States agreed to halt the wider war in West Asia on Monday. The Israeli military, meanwhile, said Lieutenant Colonel Dor Gedalia Ben Simhon had "fallen in combat" along with three other soldiers it did not immediately identify. In a separate statement it reported a reserve officer was severely wounded "as a result of an explosive drone impact in southern Lebanon", with four other soldiers lightly injured in the incident. The soldiers' deaths prompted a furious reaction from far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. "With all due respect to the Americans, Israel must make it clear to the entire world that the blood of our sons and the security of our citizens are not up for bargaining. All of Lebanon must burn," Ben Gvir said in a statement. U.S. officials including President Donald Trump have expressed frustration at Israel's campaign in Lebanon, which it has pursued in spite of the US's negotiations with Iran, as well as a separate ceasefire agreed in April that was meant to halt the fighting there. The Israeli military had said in an earlier statement that it was carrying out strikes in response to "repeated violations of the ceasefire" by Hezbollah. "During the night, the army struck and continues to strike Hezbollah terrorists and infrastructure in several areas in southern Lebanon," it said. Hezbollah said early on Friday (June 19) that it had targeted Israeli troops "with a barrage of rockets and mortar shells" near the Ali al-Taher hills, a strategic feature overlooking the town of Nabatieh. It had also reported attacking Israeli tanks, saying forces "consisting of an armoured platoon and an infantry platoon (tried) to infiltrate towards the northern side of the Ali al-Taher hills". "The clashes are still ongoing," it said. Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the war in West Asia in early March by attacking Israel to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader at the start of the U.S.-Israeli military campaign. Israel retaliated with broad strikes across Lebanon and by launching a ground invasion in the south, which borders Israel and has long been under Hezbollah's sway. The hostilities have continued despite the U.S.-Iran agreement. On Thursday (June 18), Hezbollah said it had been fighting Israeli forces attempting to advance from the town of Arnoun towards the outskirts of Kfar Tibnit, also near Nabatieh. Copyright© 2026, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

Lebanon says 18 killed in strikes, Israel reports deaths of 4 soldiers

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Lebanon says 18 killed in strikes, Israel reports deaths of 4 soldiers

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