Israel massacres sleeping families after heavy losses in south Lebanon

After suffering heavy ground losses including five soldiers killed and three tanks destroyed by Hezbollah, Israel has massacred sleeping civilians in southern Lebanon, prompting Iran to cancel scheduled US talks in Switzerland.

The Iranian negotiating team will not travel to Switzerland for talks set to begin on Friday, according to Lebanon's al-Mayadeen broadcaster.

Switzerland's foreign ministry confirmed the talks at the Bürgenstock resort had been cancelled, while the White House said Vice President JD Vance, who was to lead the US delegation, had postponed travel.

The cancellation came as Israeli warplanes bombed residential areas in southern Lebanon before dawn Friday, killing at least 20 civilians and wounding 30 others in what Lebanese officials termed a massacre.

Lebanon's National News Agency reported that strikes targeted inhabited homes in the towns of al-Sharqiyah, Harouf and Kfar Sir in the Nabatieh district.

A separate strike on the al-Ashamiya area destroyed a house, killing four more, while an Israeli drone struck a motorcycle near the Doueir municipality building, killing one person and wounding another.

Earlier strikes on Thursday had already killed at least three people, including two in Kfar Tibnit and one in Zebdine, according to Lebanese state media.

The attacks, which began at approximately 2:10 a.m. local time, targeted sleeping families and marked one of the deadliest single nights since the conflict began on February 28.

The cumulative death toll from Israel's campaign against Lebanon has now reached 3,912 killed and 11,873 wounded, with more than 1 million Lebanese displaced, according to official figures.

Hezbollah inflicts heavy losses in ground clashes

Hezbollah fighters engaged Israeli forces in fierce ground clashes, destroying at least three Merkava tanks with guided missiles in the Kfar Tebnit and Ali al-Taher hills area. The resistance group said it repelled a four-day Israeli offensive toward the strategic heights overlooking Nabatieh.

"The Kfar Tebnit-Ali al-Taher region will remain impregnable to enemy advances," Hezbollah said in a statement, vowing its fighters would create "Karbala epics" in defense of Lebanon — a reference to the seventh-century Battle of Karbala, which for Shia Muslims symbolizes sacrificial resistance against oppression.

Hezbollah field sources reported intense clashes early Friday involving heavy exchanges of fire, artillery shelling and rocket fire.

Hezbollah fighters engaged in direct combat around the Ali al-Taher hill, simultaneously targeting several Israeli positions and troop concentrations with rockets and heavy missiles.

The group confirmed it struck an Israeli military vehicle near Kfar Tebnit, causing it to catch fire.

Israeli forces attempting to advance under cover of smoke and flares to evacuate casualties came under heavy rocket and mortar fire. Israeli sources reported at least five soldiers killed and 17 others injured in the clashes.

The military officially acknowledged the deaths of four soldiers, including a battalion commander, with Israeli media reporting that the 52nd Battalion of the 401st Armored Brigade was ambushed overnight with guided missiles.

"With profound sorrow, we awoke to the bitter news of the falling of four of our sons in battle in Lebanon, including Lieutenant Colonel Dor Ben Simhon, commander of Battalion 52 in the 401st Brigade," Israeli president Isaac Herzog wrote on social media.

Local media reported that at least four helicopters were seen landing to evacuate wounded soldiers, with Israeli media describing the incident as "very hard" in south Lebanon. Israeli artillery shelling also targeted the Kfar Jouz and Jabal al-Rafie areas.

Israeli media urges continued Lebanon strikes to disrupt Iran-US MoU

Israel’s Channel 14 calls on the occupying regime to maintain its attacks on Lebanon to sabotage the peace agreement between Iran and the United States.

Israel defies US-Iran agreement

The Israeli violence came just days after the US and Iran signed a 14-point memorandum of understanding in Islamabad on June 17, which explicitly requires the "immediate and permanent cessation of military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon" and commits to "guaranteeing the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Lebanon."

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei warned that continued Israeli attacks on Lebanon would constitute a violation of US commitments under the agreement.

A diplomat familiar with the negotiations, cited by Tasnim news agency, said Iran has demanded guarantees about an end to the hostilities in Lebanon before returning to talks with the United States in Switzerland.

According to the source, Tehran has stressed that the cessation of hostilities in Lebanon must be implemented in accordance with the signed agreement. The source added that mediators are currently working to resolve the issue and bridge existing differences.

The diplomat also said the talks that were scheduled between Iran and the United States were "temporarily postponed" following Israel's recent attacks on Lebanon, but did not specify a date for their resumption.

Despite the agreement, the Israeli military said it would continue to occupy southern Lebanon indefinitely. It published a map of its so-called "Forward Defense Line," a security zone extending approximately 10 kilometers inside Lebanese territory.

War crimes allegations mount

Amnesty International condemned Israel's continued attacks, warning that the US-Iran agreement "risks becoming a shield behind which impunity, occupation and repression continue indefinitely."

Lebanese officials reported that Israeli forces have systematically targeted ambulances, medical personnel and civilian infrastructure in southern Lebanon — actions that constitute war crimes under international law.

UN peacekeepers reported that of 143 projectile trajectories observed on Thursday, 119 were attributed to Israeli forces.

Lebanese political sources in Beirut condemned the attacks and called on the international community to act swiftly to stop Israeli crimes and ensure full implementation of the ceasefire agreement.

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