JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s military said Friday that intense fighting in southern Lebanon killed four soldiers.
The military identified one of the dead, a lieutenant colonel, and said the three others would be identified later.
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A girl looks toward what residents said was an Israeli drone flying overhead as a boy checks his family's water storage tank in Halta, southern Lebanon, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Smokes rise to the sky following an Israeli military strike in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Friday, June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Smoke rises to the sky in an area near Beaufort Castle following an Israeli military strike in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Friday, June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Smoke rises to the sky in an area near Beaufort Castle following an Israeli military strike in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Friday, June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
The southern town of Khiam, Lebanon, is seen through a fence near the Lebanon-Israel border, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Buildings damaged by Israeli strikes are seen through shattered glass from the Jabal Amel Hospital in the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Lebanon’s state-run news agency says at least 16 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes in the south overnight.
The attacks came as planned talks in Switzerland between Iran and the United States over their efforts to reach a permanent end to the Iran war were delayed.
Al-Mayadeen, a pan-Arab satellite channel that is politically allied with Hezbollah, reported that Iran was delaying sending its delegation to Switzerland over ongoing Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon.
Israel maintains it must continue to hold the territory and have a free hand to battle Hezbollah as it has been launching attacks into northern Israel.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s military said Friday its forces struck targets throughout southern Lebanon overnight as Hezbollah reported intense fighting in the area, threatening the nascent agreement between Iran and the United States to end their war.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported at least 16 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes, which the Israeli military said were ongoing.
Continued fighting in Lebanon could unravel the newly signed deal, which calls for an immediate halt to military operations “on all fronts, including in Lebanon,” where Israel has been battling the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group, and for ensuring Lebanon’s “territorial integrity and sovereignty.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces elections later this year, has refused to withdraw, saying Israeli forces will remain in Lebanon until the threat from Hezbollah has been eliminated.
The attacks came as planned talks in Switzerland between Iran and the United States over their efforts to reach a permanent end to the Iran war were delayed.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Thursday put off his trip to Switzerland where he had been set to lead the talks. The White House blamed logistical issues, but the announcement came after a report from Al-Mayadeen, a pan-Arab satellite channel that is politically allied to Hezbollah, that Iran was delaying sending its delegation to Switzerland over Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Lebanon.
U.S. President Donald Trump signed the initial pact with Iran on Wednesday while dining with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Palace of Versailles, which took immediate effect.
In comments following the signing, Vance offered a blunt warning to Israel, saying Trump was “the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time.”
Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press reporter David Rising contributed to this story from Bangkok.
A girl looks toward what residents said was an Israeli drone flying overhead as a boy checks his family's water storage tank in Halta, southern Lebanon, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Smokes rise to the sky following an Israeli military strike in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Friday, June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Smoke rises to the sky in an area near Beaufort Castle following an Israeli military strike in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Friday, June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Smoke rises to the sky in an area near Beaufort Castle following an Israeli military strike in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Friday, June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
The southern town of Khiam, Lebanon, is seen through a fence near the Lebanon-Israel border, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Buildings damaged by Israeli strikes are seen through shattered glass from the Jabal Amel Hospital in the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
LONDON (AP) — Labour’s Andy Burnham, the current mayor of Greater Manchester, has won a special election for a seat in Parliament that puts him in a position to challenge embattled Prime Minister Keir Starmer for leadership of the country.
Burnham decisively won the seat of Makerfield in northwest England over Rob Kenyon of the anti-immigration party Reform UK.
The victory announced early Friday cements the status of Burnham, a 56-year-old politician nicknamed the King of the North, as the top contender to replace Starmer as leader of the Labour Party and the country. Burnham won almost 55% of the 45,510 votes cast for a field of more than a dozen candidates, over 9,000 more than runner-up Kenyon.
Burnham’s victory speech left no doubt that he wants to lead the country, and not just be one of the more than 400 Labour lawmakers in the 650-seat House of Commons.
“Everyone knows that politics isn’t working," he said. "Everyone can feel that the country isn’t where it should be. Tonight could, just could, be the turning point.”
Starmer, who has insisted he will fight any leadership challenge, congratulated Burnham. “Voters chose Labour’s campaign of hope and optimism over division and hate,” the prime minister wrote on X.
Burnham has led Manchester since 2017, overseeing rapid regeneration for the city where the Industrial Revolution was forged. He is pledging to repeat his signature brand of “Manchesterism” on a national scale.
Burnham said he would work to ensure that “the name Makerfield is forever synonymous with bringing about the change this country needs.”
He said Labour had “a final chance to change" and win back voters' trust.
“But it is a chance now, from this result tonight, to build a new politics based on unity and hope, turning away from the path that takes us to a divided, dark politics of the kind we see in the United States,” he said.
Starmer’s popularity has cratered since he led the center-left Labour Party to a landslide election victory in July 2024.
He has struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair tattered public services and ease the cost of living, and been hamstrung by repeated missteps, including his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, a scandal-tarnished friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as the U.K. ambassador to the United States.
Labour is losing liberal voters to the growing Green Party, and facing a rising Reform UK, which consistently leads in nationwide opinion polls. The Nigel Farage -led party has rapidly gained ground in post-industrial northern England areas like Makerfield, some 200 miles (320 kilometers) northwest of London.
Burnham’s resounding victory gives Labour new hope of stopping the Reform tide. Farage acknowledged he was “disappointed, no question about it,” with the result of Thursday’s vote.
A dismal performance by Labour in May’s local elections spurred scores of lawmakers to demand Starmer’s resignation. He has refused to budge, but senior colleagues are trying to force a change.
Wes Streeting resigned as health secretary in May, saying that “where we need vision, we have a vacuum.” Streeting has said he will run in a leadership contest if there is one.
Then Josh Simons, the Labour lawmaker for Makerfield, stepped down to trigger a special election and give Burnham the chance to return to Parliament.
Britain’s parliamentary system allows governing parties to change leaders midterm, with the winner becoming prime minister without the need for a national election. Under Labour rules, a lawmaker can challenge the leader if they have backing from a fifth of the party’s House of Commons lawmakers — a number that stands at 81.
The victorious Burnham will head to London to be sworn in as a lawmaker as soon as Monday. He’s likely to seek a meeting with Starmer to argue that the prime minister should exit gracefully and set a timetable for his departure.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said Burnham and Starmer would in the next few days have to “have a conversation about what comes next.”
Labour lawmaker Louise Haigh, a Burnham ally, said Starmer should “do what’s best for both the country and the Labour Party” and “consider an orderly and managed transition.”
“Andy won’t be doing anything rash or hasty,” she told Sky News. “I’m really hopeful the prime minister and Andy can come to an agreement.”
Starmer has so far insisted he has no intention of leaving his post.
“I will fight if there’s a challenge,” he said at the G7 summit in France this week. “We won a significant general election result in 2024, with a mandate to bring about change. I’m not going to walk away from that.”
Starmer suggested that he could offer Burnham a Cabinet post, telling Sky News on Wednesday that “I want him to have a big role in government.” Allies of Burnham indicated that he wasn’t interested.
Despite his stubborn determination, Starmer could be forced out if several members of the Cabinet tell him the game is up and quit, or threaten to quit, in protest.
There could then be a leadership contest, or a coronation, depending on whether other potential candidates think Burnham has an unassailable lead.
Rob Ford, professor of political science at the University of Manchester, said “the pressure on Starmer will be very hard to resist” now that Burnham is back in Parliament.
Ford said defeating Reform UK in Makerfield strengthens Burnham’s claim to be Labour’s biggest asset.
“The narrative he can bring is, ‘No one else could have won that seat. I won that. I bring something unique. I bring an ability to renew our appeal,’” Ford said.
Labour party's Andy Burnham speaks after winning the Makerfield by-election, paving the way for a leadership challenge against Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. in Wigan, England, Friday, June 19, 2026.(AP Photo/Jon Super)
Britain's Labour party's Andy Burnham leaves with his wife Marie-France Van Heel and their daughter Rosie after winning the Makerfield by-election, paving the way for a leadership challenge against Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. in Wigan, England, Friday, June 19, 2026.(AP Photo/Jon Super)
Vote counts started after the Makerfield by-election in Wigan, England, Friday, June 19, 2026.(AP Photo/Jon Super)
Labour party's Andy Burnham speaks after winning the Makerfield by-election, paving the way for a leadership challenge against Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. in Wigan, England, Friday, June 19, 2026.(AP Photo/Jon Super)
Britain's Reform Party leader Nigel Farage and local candidate Rob Kenyon ashake hands at a polling station during the by-election in Makerfield, England, Thursday, June 18, 2026.(AP Photo/Jon Super)
Andy Burnham, Britain's Labour candidate for Makerfield, gestures in front of supporters during the by-election in Makerfield, England, Thursday, June 18, 2026 where voters are choosing a new lawmaker with Andy Burnham of the Labour Party as the leading contender.(AP Photo/Jon Super)
Labour party candidate Andy Burnham arrives at the Edge Wigan for the Makerfield by-election result announcement in Wigan, England, Friday, June 19, 2026.(AP Photo/Jon Super)
