Israel and Hezbollah Agree to Cease-Fire; U.S.-Iran Negotiations Restart

[Anchor]

Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah have agreed to a cease-fire, mediated by the United States and Qatar. As U.S. envoys head to Switzerland one after another, follow-up negotiations between the U.S. and Iran are also expected to resume.

Reporter Gwak Sang-eun has the story.

[Reporter]

A U.S. official told the media that Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a cease-fire effective as of 4:00 p.m. local time on June 19, following mediation by the U.S. and Qatar.

Michael Herzog, the Israeli Ambassador to the U.S., also confirmed that "all offensive operations have ceased," although Hezbollah has yet to issue an official statement.

Until just before the cease-fire, Israeli airstrikes were intense.

From the night of June 19 to the morning of June 20, the Israeli military struck over 80 targets in Lebanon, killing at least 47 people and injuring nearly 100.

Israel claimed the strikes were in retaliation for an attack on its tank unit in southern Lebanon that left four soldiers dead.

Reports have also emerged that U.S. President Donald Trump intervened directly as the implementation of the memorandum of understanding for the end of hostilities began to falter from the start.

An NBC News reporter stated that they spoke with President Trump, who said he told the Israeli side, "Sometimes you just have to calm down and use your head."

President Trump later announced that he had brokered the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah.

Although the cease-fire remains fragile, the cooling of the Lebanese front—which had been a major obstacle to U.S.-Iran talks—has allowed stalled post-war negotiations to begin moving again.

The U.S. online news outlet Axios reported that Avi Berkowitz, President Trump's Middle East envoy, is en route to Switzerland, and Jared Kushner has already arrived in the country.

It has not yet been confirmed whether Vice President J.D. Vance, who is known to lead the working-level negotiations, will join them.

However, with key U.S. figures heading to Switzerland, the possibility of face-to-face negotiations as early as this weekend is gaining weight.

(Video Editing: Chae Chul-ho)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.