Destruction in Nabatieh, Lebanon, on 15 June 2026, as Israel’s defence minister said the army would remain in Lebanon indefinitely<\/p>\n
Anger and disappointment broke out in Israel<\/a> on Monday morning after mediator Pakistan<\/a> announced late on Sunday that the US<\/a> and Iran<\/a>\u00a0had reached a peace agreement.<\/p>\n “We are pleased to announce that the Peace Deal between the United States of America and Islamic Republic of Iran has been REACHED,” Pakistan\u2019s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced<\/a> on his X account.<\/p>\n Sharif, who assumed the role of the mediator between the US and Iran after the joint Israeli-US war on Iran<\/a> started in February, added that the agreement included an “immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon”.<\/p>\n According to Sharif, who thanked Israel’s adversaries,\u00a0Turkey<\/a>, Qatar<\/a> and Saudi Arabia<\/a>, for their part in the negotiations, the agreement will be signed on Friday in Switzerland.<\/p>\n Shortly after Pakistan’s announcement, both the US and Iran confirmed<\/a> the agreement, with President Donald Trump saying the deal was “complete” and Iran\u2019s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi saying a final agreement was due to be signed within 60 days<\/p>\n Although Pakistan and Iran both said the emerging agreement included the cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon<\/a>, Israeli officials rejected this clause and said they were not bound by the agreement, while Israeli forces carried out<\/a> a series of attacks across southern Lebanon on Monday.<\/p>\n Israeli news site Ynet reported on Monday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has yet to publicly comment on last night’s development, said<\/a> to Trump that Israel is not bound by the agreement and would not accept Iranian requirements in Lebanon<\/a>.<\/p>\n Defence Minister Israel Katz echoed<\/a> Netanyahu’s reported remarks on Monday, saying the Israeli army “will remain in the security zones in Lebanon, Syria<\/a> and Gaza, without any time limit”.<\/p>\n Katz added that the territories under Israeli occupation would be cleared of civilians and their homes, which he designated as “terror infrastructure”, would be destroyed.<\/p>\n Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich took<\/a> to X to voice his frustration with the emerging deal, saying “the agreement with Iran is bad for Israel and for the entire free world”. The far-right minister added that Israel would have to continue its campaign against Iran alone.<\/p>\n Smotrich, who recently<\/a> called for the levelling of buildings in Beirut in response to Hezbollah attacks, said he would continue to allow the army \u201cfull freedom of action\u201d in Lebanon despite the agreement.<\/p>\n “Trump\u2019s agreement does not bind us,” National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir wrote<\/a> on X. “Israel is not a subordinate of the United States, and we are an independent and sovereign state,” he added.<\/p>\n Ben Gvir added that Israel “is not a banana republic”, stating that the emerging deal “does not bind us in any way”, with the far-right minister claiming the deal will not protect Israel’s security.<\/p>\n Other government officials vowed to attack Iran despite the agreement.<\/p>\n Culture Minister Miki Zohar told Ynet that his government is only interested in whether Iran has nuclear weapons or not.<\/p>\n “If Israel sees that its security is in danger, it will strike Iran with force,” Zohar said<\/a>, claiming that Iranians “will not only get down on their knees, but they will bow their heads as well”.<\/p>\n While Israel’s ministers avoided criticising Trump and Netanyahu directly, angry reactions were recorded both by opposition and right-wing figures, with journalists close to Netanyahu lashing out at Trump.<\/p>\n Channel 14 News journalist Yinon Magal, who is widely seen in Israel as a mouthpiece of Israel’s prime minister, wrote<\/a> on X that Israel had been left alone in its wars in Iran and Lebanon, calling Trump a “loser” and Vice-President JD Vance “scum”.<\/p>\n Magal also referred to the US special envoys to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, as “little Jews”, using a common antisemitic slur.<\/p>\n Shimon Riklin, another Channel 14 News journalist, said<\/a> on Monday that “what Israel needs more than anything right now is sovereignty”, adding that it was needed to remind the “treacherous America” that Israel has its own interests.<\/p>\n Israel’s Defence and Security Forum (IDSF), a right-wing think tank, said<\/a> on Monday that “every agreement with the Iranian terrorist regime is ultimately doomed to fail, and the current agreement will be no different”.<\/p>\n The IDSF added that “this is the time to stand tall, prepare for what lies ahead, and not compromise on Israel\u2019s interests in removing the threat from Lebanon and Iran”.<\/p>\n Others attacked the Israeli prime minister, with Netanyahu’s political opponents seizing the occasion to attack his leadership and war policies.<\/p>\n Yair Golan, leader of the centre-left Democrats party, described<\/a> Netanyahu as “weak, ill, isolated and lacking influence”, saying that Trump signed an agreement that transfers billions of frozen assets to Iran while preserving its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.<\/p>\n According to Golan, the emerging deal represents “years of failure” of Netanyahu’s policies to do a deal with Iran, adding that now “Israel is weaker”.<\/p>\n Gadi Eisenkot, a prime ministerial candidate and former army chief, said<\/a> the agreement failed to address any of Israel’s security concerns, adding that nearly three years of wars since the 7 October \u201cdebacle\u201d led to “a grim result of a failed government”.<\/p>\n Former prime minister Naftali Bennett also attacked<\/a> Netanyahu’s government, saying that it “is incapable of making decisive decisions and has led us into wars of attrition and stagnation”.<\/p>\n Bennett promised to replace Netanyahu in the upcoming elections and fix his mistakes, stating that he has a plan to topple the Iranian leadership.<\/p>\n\u2018Not binding\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\u2018Treacherous America\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n