Israel and the US launched a campaign against Iran on February 28 in a bid to destabilize the regime and destroy its nuclear and ballistic missile capacities. Iran responded with missile and drone strikes across the region \u2014 including at Israel \u2014 as did Hezbollah, which began to attack northern Israel with rocket and drone barrages. Israel responded with massive airstrikes and a ground invasion that displaced hundreds of thousands of southern Lebanese.<\/p>\n
\t Though Iran has tied Lebanon to its negotiations with the US, Israel insists it is a separate issue, as Hezbollah remains able to strike Israel at will. Both Iran and Hezbollah are avowed to wipe out Israel, which was not involved in the negotiations for a truce. Direct negotiations with Lebanon\u2019s government for a separate ceasefire, hosted by the US, have so far been unsuccessful.<\/p>\n Iran and mediator Pakistan say the agreement with the US provides for an end to the fighting in Lebanon, but Israeli ministers said<\/a> forces will not be withdrawn from the country. Netanyahu did not immediately comment on the deal, which was lashed by opposition leaders.<\/p>\n Asaf Langleben, head of the Upper Galilee Regional Council, said in a statement that what mattered for residents was \u201cnot declarations of agreements, but actions.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe residents of the Upper Galilee are tired of assurances and demand one thing: real security that will enable them to return to a sane life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \t According to Israel Hayom, some northern residents also feel despair.<\/p>\n Sima Peler, a resident of the northern border city of Kiryat Shmona, wrote in a residents\u2019 WhatsApp group, \u201cLast one out, turn off the lights. They sold us out.\u201d<\/p>\n Koby Heller, a 40-year-old Jerusalem resident and owner of a chain of orthopedic clinics, told AFP that \u201cthe general feeling within Israel, I can\u2019t even say if it\u2019s a feeling within, but everyone I talk to tells me: \u2018We lost.’\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPresident Trump went to war, with Israel, to achieve goals. The goals were \u2014 as he stated \u2014 to dismantle the missiles and to remove the uranium stockpile from Iran. Neither was achieved,\u201d he said, referring to the reported terms of the memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran to halt the fighting.<\/p>\n \t In Lebanon, AFP saw displaced people preparing to return to homes they fled in the south of the country, despite Israeli ministers declaring that they are not bound by the agreement, which reportedly<\/a> also calls for a halt to fighting against Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah.<\/p>\n At the Qasmiyeh bridge, gateway to the Tyre area that Israel has pounded in recent weeks, dozens of cars packed with mattresses and suitcases were passing through a Lebanese army checkpoint, passengers flashing victory signs.<\/p>\n Alaa Merahi, who was driving with his wife and children, told AFP: \u201cWe\u2019re returning to our south, to the free land\u2026 we can\u2019t do without the southern land.\u201d<\/p>\n Many expressed hope this would be a \u201cfinal return\u201d after hundreds of thousands of residents were repeatedly forced to flee Israeli bombings and evacuation orders.<\/p>\n At a crowded school-turned-shelter in the coastal city of Sidon, displaced people sat in classrooms drinking coffee, waiting for official authorization to return.<\/p>\n \t \u2018We\u2019ll set up a tent\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cOur joy is greater than the whole world,\u201d said Haifa Sherri, who was displaced from the town of Khirbet Selm near the border.<\/p>\n She said, however, she would hold off on returning until the situation became clearer.<\/p>\n Lebanon\u2019s army urged displaced residents to delay their return to southern border villages, while several municipalities told people to await instructions.<\/p>\n But in Sidon, Hanaa Jaffal said she planned to return on Monday to Ansar, close to Nabatieh and the Israeli advance.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s nothing like returning to your land, even if the houses are no longer there,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll set up a tent and stay in it,\u201d she said, paying tribute to Iran, which backs Hezbollah and which insisted Lebanon must be included in any peace deal.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Davidi-2-e1774512812335-640x400.jpeg\")
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\n\t\tScreen capture from video of Moshav Margaliot Chairman Eitan Davidi during an interview with Channel 12 about the situation in northern border communities amid Hezbollah rocket fire, March 25, 2026. (Channel 12.)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/F260427AMA11-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tAsaf Langleben, left, head of the Upper Galilee Regional Council, with other local authority heads in northern Israel near the Israeli border with Lebanon, April 27, 2026. (Ayal Margolin\/Flash90)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP26151312358117-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tA local resident walks past the site struck by a rocket fired from Lebanon in Kiryat Shmona, northern Israel, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo\/Ariel Schalit)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP26166365908292-1-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tIsraeli and Lebanese flags are seen in an area near the border, backdropped by destroyed buildings in southern Lebanon as viewed from northern Israel, June 15, 2026. (Leo Correa\/AP)<\/p>\n
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