Israel escalates strikes in Lebanon as Netanyahu vows to ‘crush’ Hezbollah | Lebanon
The Israeli military has intensified its attacks in southern Lebanon after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the army to step up its offensive to “crush” Hezbollah, further eroding an already fractured ceasefire.
In response, Hezbollah said it carried out several attacks on three barracks and a military outpost in northern Israel on Monday “in response to Israel’s violation of the ceasefire.”
The intensifying conflict comes at a time when hopes for an imminent agreement between the United States and Iran are fading; Tehran points to confusion in US positions and Israeli intervention as key factors in understanding why a full agreement is difficult to achieve.
Speaking at the weekly foreign ministry press conference, Esmail Baghaei, spokesman for Iran’s negotiating team, said that the future management of the Strait of Hormuz is an issue that Oman and Iran must agree on, and that what is being offered are not tolls but “fees for navigation services”.
Earlier on Tuesday, Iran-backed Hezbollah claimed responsibility for a series of attacks in northern Israel: at least four drone strikes on the Shomera barracks, attacks on two barracks in other towns in the area, and a midday attack on a military outpost in Misgav Am, carried out in short bursts.
The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah broke out on March 2. Despite the ceasefire that came into force on April 17, both sides continued to exchange fire almost every day.
“I have ordered our operations to be further accelerated,” Netanyahu said in a video statement published on his Telegram channel. “It is true that they are attacking us with drones, including fiber optic drones, but we have teams working on countermeasures and we will resolve this issue… We will intensify our strikes, increase our firepower and crush them.”
Following the call to escalate tensions, an Agence France-Presse reporter saw residents fleeing the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold.
According to the Lebanese National News Agency (NNA), Israeli air forces launched repeated strikes on the Bekaa valley in eastern Lebanon on Monday evening.
Dozens of Israeli attacks targeted several towns and villages in southern Lebanon in the early hours, killing three people in two cars and a motorcycle, NNA reported.
Israeli airstrikes then targeted several towns near the ancient city of Tire, according to the state agency. These attacks came after Israel issued an evacuation order for 10 villages, accusing Hezbollah of violating the ceasefire.
Hezbollah regularly launched drone strikes against Israeli forces within Lebanese territory and across the border; including many on Monday.
According to Lebanese officials, more than 3,100 people have died in Israeli attacks since the beginning of March.
The Israeli army also announced on Monday that a soldier was killed in southern Lebanon the previous day. Thus, the number of Israeli soldiers killed since the start of the conflict with Hezbollah increased to 23. A civilian contractor was also killed.
Two far-right ministers have called for an expansion of Israel’s military action in Lebanon. “The threat posed by Hezbollah’s explosive drones must be urgently stopped,” finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, who lives in a settlement in the occupied West Bank, said on Telegram.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir called for a “return to intense warfare” and “taking control” of more areas.
With Agence France-Presse
