Jerusalem: The Israeli military intensified strikes across southern Lebanon on Monday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered an escalation to crush Hezbollah, even as the United States and Iran sought to finalise an agreement to end the broader Middle East conflict.
Netanyahu said in a video statement posted on his Telegram channel: “I have ordered an even greater acceleration of our operations.”
He warned of continued drone threats and stressed Israeli countermeasures: “It is true that they are attacking us with drones, including fibre-optic drones, but we have teams working on countermeasures, and we will solve this issue… We will intensify our blows, increase our firepower, and we will crush them.”
Even after a ceasefire that came into force on April 17, Israeli forces and Iran-backed Hezbollah have traded almost-daily exchanges. The escalation on May 25 included successive Israeli air strikes in the Bekaa valley in eastern Lebanon and multiple attacks across southern Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) and an AFP correspondent.
Flight Of Civilians
Following Netanyahu’s call for intensified operations, an AFP correspondent reported residents fleeing the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold. NNA said dozens of early-morning Israeli strikes hit several towns and villages in southern Lebanon, killing three
people — two in cars and one on a motorcycle. Subsequent strikes targeted towns near the ancient city of Tyre.
Evacuations & Accusations
The Israeli military issued evacuation orders for 10 villages, accusing Hezbollah of breaching the truce. Colonel Avichay Adraee, the Israel Defense Forces’ Arabic-language spokesman, said in a social media post: “In light of Hezbollah’s violation of the ceasefire agreement, the Israel Defense Forces are compelled to operate against it with force,” and listed the names of the villages.
Hezbollah has repeatedly launched drone attacks against Israeli forces inside Lebanese territory and across the border, including several on May 25. The group said that it had targeted three barracks and a military post in northern Israel “in response to the violation of the ceasefire” by the Jewish state.
Casualties & Losses
Lebanese authorities say Israeli strikes since early March have killed more than 3,100 people. The Israeli military announced on May 25 that a soldier had been killed the previous day in southern Lebanon, bringing the number of Israeli soldiers killed since the outbreak of hostilities with Hezbollah to 23; one civilian contractor has also been killed.
Meanwhile, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun defended his decision to hold talks with Israel, saying his demand for a complete Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon was “non-negotiable.” Lebanon and Israel — which have no diplomatic relations — are scheduled for further negotiations in Washington on June 2–3, after a meeting of military officials from both countries at the Pentagon on May 29.
Hezbollah deputy leader Naim Qassem reiterated on May 24 his opposition to direct negotiations and repeated his refusal to have his movement disarm.