ALBAWABA - The Israeli army had been prepared to carry out an operation to bomb a "Hezbollah stronghold" in the Ali al-Taher area of Nabatieh district in southern Lebanon, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu postponed it.
Hezbollah rejects U.S.-brokered Israel-Lebanon deal linking Israeli withdrawal to disarmamentThe postponement of the attack on a Hezbollah position came in response to a request from U.S. President Donald Trump, who does not want explosions in Lebanon that could affect the ongoing talks with Iran, Israel’s Channel 15 reported, citing informed sources.
Israeli sources told the Israeli outlet Ynet that there are no arrangements yet for a meeting between Trump and Netanyahu next week, indicating that there are doubts about the meeting taking place, following a report by the website Axios that spoke of the possibility of a meeting soon at the White House.
Smoke rises from the site of a string of Israeli airstrikes that targeted the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh on June 20, 2026. Photo by ABBAS FAKIH / AFP
Earlier, Trump told Axios that Netanyahu had requested a meeting at the White House, indicating that he might receive him after returning from the NATO summit in Turkey. He added, "Our relationship is good, and [Netanyahu] knows who's in charge," referring to himself.
Lebanese Health Ministry announced that since March 2, when the Lebanese group Hezbollah joined the war, at least 4,303 have been killed and 12,202 have been injured.
The U.S. and Iran have postponed the peace talks for a week for Tehran to finalize the funeral of its slain supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the February 28 attack by Washington and Tel Aviv.
