People continue to be hopeful that the new US-Iran deal will actually lead to a resolution of the ongoing Israeli invasion of Lebanon, though Israeli officials seem loathe to countenance such a possibility. The number of Israeli attacks does seem to have declined, at least in the near term.
An Israeli drone strike against a car in southern Lebanon’s Kfar Tibnit roundabout, killing the driver. The IDF has notably not commented on the incident, the first fatal strike confirmed since the Iran deal was announced.
Further IDF strikes were reported elsewhere in southern Lebanon, including the city of Nabatieh. Israeli artillery strikes were also reported against multiple areas of southern Lebanon, defying expectations for a situation that is both two months into an Israeli-declared ceasefire and less than 24 hours after a US-Iran deal that at least notionally was meant to fully resolve the situation.
A boy inspects the damage at the site of an overnight Israeli strike in the southern city of Tyre, Lebanon, May 23, 2026. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
Any hope that the 1.2 million Lebanese people who have been displaced by the war are going to be able to return home, assuming their homes weren’t destroyed outright, seems to similarly be delayed, with officials admonishing them not to try to “rush” home given the situation.
Though Hezbollah reportedly has not launched any attacks since the new deal was announced, Israeli officials have been very clear they have no intention of actually ending the occupation, and that the occupied region is still considered a “security zone,” which is to say Israel is liable to fire on anyone attempting to return to it.
The displaced are desperate, but they’re also pretty clear about not trusting the news just yet. Given that hundreds of Lebanese have been killed during what was claimed to be a ceasefire already, and strikes are continuing again today, even if at a lower rate, it’s hard to blame them.
