Israeli strikes in Lebanon kill seven
- Last updated: June 21, 2026 | 11:29
Lebanon's health ministry said late Saturday that fresh Israeli strikes in the south and east of the country had killed seven people.
Five people, including a woman and child, were killed in the east of the country and two Palestinians were killed in the southern Tyr region, said the ministry.
These latest strikes came before a pause noted by an AFP correspondent, when the Israeli army said it had received orders from the country's political leadership to halt fighting in southern Lebanon.
Yet the first days of that two-month period were complicated by the heavy exchange of fire in Lebanon between Israel and the Iranian-backed group Hizbollah – and by the subsequent announcement by Iran's military that it had closed the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway that transits a fifth of the world's traded oil and natural gas.
Vance had originally been slated to be on the ground at the picturesque Bürgenstock resort near Lucerne on Friday, but his departure from the United States was delayed after fighting escalated in Lebanon and Iranian officials canceled plans to attend the talks.
Vice President JD Vance landed Sunday in Switzerland to help formally launch negotiations with Iranian leaders over curbing Tehran's nuclear program and building out the fragile interim deal to end the war in Iran.
Yet the first days of that two-month period were complicated by the heavy exchange of fire in Lebanon between Israel and the Iranian-backed group Hizbollah – and by the subsequent announcement by Iran's military that it had closed the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway that transits a fifth of the world's traded oil and natural gas.
Vance had originally been slated to be on the ground at the picturesque Bürgenstock resort near Lucerne on Friday, but his departure from the United States was delayed after fighting escalated in Lebanon and Iranian officials canceled plans to attend the talks.
Agencies