Zein Khalil and Rania Abushamala
05 July 2026•Update: 05 July 2026
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied reports Sunday that the US had restricted Israeli military operations in Lebanon.
"I heard it was said in the media that President Trump asked not to act against terror tunnels in Lebanon. This is a legend, fake news. He didn't say anything to me about it, and I didn't ask him. We operate according to our considerations," Netanyahu said during a weekly Cabinet meeting.
His remarks contradicted an earlier report by Israel's public broadcaster KAN late last month that Israel had provided US officials with detailed intelligence on alleged Hezbollah tunnels in the Ali al-Taher Heights in southern Lebanon in an effort to obtain US approval for military operations in the area.
The report suggested Israel sought a US green light to continue its military activities in Lebanon, contrary to Netanyahu's assertion that Israeli military decisions are made independently.
Since March 2, 2026, Israeli military operations in Lebanon have killed at least 4,303 people and injured 12,202 others, according to Lebanese authorities, while displacing more than one million.
On June 26, Israel and Lebanon signed a framework agreement under US mediation aimed at ending the Israeli occupation of Lebanese territory.
Turning to Gaza, Netanyahu said there would be no reconstruction in the enclave before it is disarmed, a position that departs from the sequencing outlined in US President Donald Trump's plan to end the war.
"There will be no reconstruction in Gaza without dismantling and demilitarizing the Strip," he said in his comments carried by the daily Yedioth Ahronoth.
Under the second phase of Trump's plan, a broader Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza and the launch of reconstruction are to proceed in parallel with the beginning of the disarmament of Palestinian factions.
According to the paper, Netanyahu's remarks came amid reports that Trump’s Board of Peace intends to move ahead with reconstruction in areas under Israeli military control without linking it to the disarmament of Hamas.
Since October 2023, the Israeli army has killed more than 73,000 people and injured over 173,000 injured, in a deadly offensive that has caused widespread destruction affecting 90% of the enclave’s civilian infrastructure, according to official Gaza data.
