Airstrike Shatters Ceasefire
Israeli Airstrike Kills Lebanese Troops in Southern Lebanon Days After Ceasefire
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An Israeli airstrike killed several Lebanese soldiers on June 6, 2026, hitting a military vehicle on the Khardali-Nabatieh road in southern Lebanon. The strike came just days after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal — and drew immediate condemnation from the Lebanese military, which called it a AP News "barbaric Israeli raid."
The attack threatens to shatter the fragile "pilot zones" agreement signed in Washington on June 3. That deal was meant to give Lebanon's army exclusive control over parts of the south. Now, with Hezbollah rejecting the truce and Israel continuing to strike, the agreement appears close to collapse.
How the June 3 Ceasefire Deal Fell Apart Fast
U.S. mediators spent weeks brokering a deal they hoped would end the 2026 Lebanon War. The June 3 agreement created "pilot zones" — areas where only the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) could operate, with Hezbollah barred entirely. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called it the AP News "last chance" for peace.
But the deal broke down almost immediately. Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem rejected it the very next day, calling it a The Guardian "roadmap for the annihilation and enslavement" of the Lebanese people. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Ynet "at the moment, there is no deal" because Hezbollah had not accepted the terms. By June 5, Israeli strikes in Tyre killed seven people.
Lebanese Army Caught Between IDF Strikes and Hezbollah
The LAF has stayed officially neutral throughout the war. That position is becoming impossible to hold. Security sources cited by L'Orient Today say the army is now being ordered to deploy into zones where Israeli jets strike overhead and Hezbollah refuses to pull back. The June 6 strike killed a senior officer alongside several soldiers.
The IDF said it was Times of Israel "forced to act with force" because Hezbollah kept violating the truce. But hitting Lebanon's state military — not Hezbollah fighters — is a dangerous escalation. It risks pulling the LAF directly into a war it has spent decades trying to avoid.
War's Toll: 3,500 Dead and $20 Billion in Damage
The 2026 Lebanon War began on March 2, when Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel after Israel and the U.S. struck Iran. Israel launched a ground invasion on March 16, seizing roughly 20% of Lebanese territory, AP News reported. A first ceasefire on April 17 was violated repeatedly by both sides.
The human cost is staggering. More than 3,516 Lebanese have been killed and 10,674 injured since March, according to Reuters. Over 1.2 million people — about 20% of Lebanon's population — have been displaced. Lebanese Finance Minister Yassine Jaber estimates total economic damage at $20 billion, with GDP expected to shrink by 7% to 10% in 2026. The war costs Lebanon an estimated $75 million every single day.
Why Experts Say the Ceasefire Was Doomed From the Start
Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War say the Lebanon conflict is now tied directly to U.S.-Iran diplomacy. Tehran has insisted that any deal with Washington must include a halt to strikes in Lebanon. That link makes a standalone Lebanon ceasefire nearly impossible to lock in.
Maj. Avraham Levin of the Alma Research and Education Center says the ceasefire was "illusory" from the start. The Lebanese government simply lacks the power to force Hezbollah out of the south. The June 6 strike on LAF soldiers only deepens that crisis — and gives Hezbollah more reason to keep fighting.
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