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An Israeli soldier monitors the area through a rifle scope near the border with Lebanon in northern Israel on May 31 (local time). / Photo by Reuters via Yonhap News

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on June 21 (local time) that Israeli soldiers maintain the unrestricted freedom to act to eliminate threats within Lebanon and that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will remain stationed in the so-called "security zone."

"All achievements made by the IDF during the operations in Lebanon are being maintained," Minister Katz said in a statement. He emphasized that Israeli troops would remain positioned across all areas of the security zone, which stretches roughly 10 kilometers deep into southern Lebanon, to ensure the safety of communities in northern Israel.

Although a ceasefire with the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah took effect on June 19 following months of escalating military conflict, at least 20 people were killed in Lebanon due to Israeli airstrikes conducted on June 20, according to the state-run National News Agency (NNA).

Israeli officials explained that the airstrikes targeted Hezbollah and were launched in response to projectiles fired at Israeli troops stationed in southern Lebanon.

A Hezbollah official told Reuters that the group would honor the agreement as long as Israel abided by the ceasefire, but stressed that the Israeli military does not possess the right to move freely within southern Lebanon. The official added that Israel had ceased its attacks after 6:30 p.m. (1530 GMT) on June 20.

Other sources also confirmed to Reuters that Israel had not carried out any major airstrikes in Lebanon after that time.

Meanwhile, Iranian officials reported that the Lebanon issue will serve as a core agenda item during the upcoming high-level follow-up negotiations between the United States and Iran in Switzerland, aimed at implementing the memorandum of understanding (MOU) to end the war.

Currently, the IDF remains deployed in parts of southern Lebanon. While Hezbollah asserts its right to fight against Israeli forces within Lebanese territory, it previously stated that it would halt attacks targeting the Israeli mainland.

                                                                                                            Lee Jung-eun