Four Israeli soldiers, including a tank battalion commander, were killed overnight in southern Lebanon when their vehicle was struck by an anti-tank munition, according to Israeli military statements. The attack, claimed by Hezbollah near the village of Kfar Tebnit, prompted Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to declare on social media that “all Lebanon must burn” and that “for every tear of an Israeli mother, a thousand Lebanese mothers must cry.” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich separately called for “opening the gates of hell.” The Israel Defense Forces said it struck more than 80 Hezbollah targets across southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley, killing dozens of militants, in what it described as a response to repeated ceasefire violations.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported at least 18 dead and 33 wounded in the Israeli strikes, which concentrated on the Nabatieh region and hampered rescue operations. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned Ben-Gvir’s statement as evidence that the Israeli government seeks “permanent war,” writing on X that the “genocidal death cult headquartered in Tel Aviv is a threat to all of humanity.” Tehran, which backs Hezbollah, immediately linked the escalation to the fate of US-Iran negotiations. A diplomat familiar with the matter told CNN that Iran demanded guarantees that hostilities in Lebanon would cease before it would resume talks with Washington in Switzerland, and the planned Friday meeting was postponed after US Vice President JD Vance cancelled his trip.

Viewed from Washington, the flare-up exposes deep strains between the White House and the Israeli cabinet over a memorandum of understanding signed with Iran on 17 June. The accord, which includes a 60-day ceasefire and a framework for nuclear discussions, was meant to de-escalate regional tensions. Vice President Vance publicly rebuked Israeli ministers who attacked the deal and President Donald Trump personally, stating that Trump is “the only head of state in the entire world who shows sympathy for the nation of Israel right now” and reminding them that two-thirds of the defensive weapons Israel used were “made by American hands and paid for by American taxpayers.”

The diplomatic architecture now hangs on whether the Lebanon front can be quieted. Iran’s parallel announcement that the Strait of Hormuz would remain open to compliant vessels for 60 days, matching the ceasefire window, signalled a willingness to uphold its side of the bargain. Yet Israeli forces continue to occupy a wide strip of southern Lebanon, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has indicated no intention of withdrawing. Mediators from Pakistan and Qatar are working to secure the guarantees Tehran demands, but no new date for the Burgenstock talks has been set, leaving the nuclear track and the broader truce in suspension.