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Israel expanded its ground assault in Lebanon with its broadest incursion into the country in a quarter-century as Hezbollah \u2014 Iran\u2019s most powerful regional ally \u2014 stepped up attacks on Israel\u2019s north.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to the Israeli military, Hezbollah fired more than 300 \u201cprojectiles\u201d at its soldiers in Lebanon and at northern Israel over the weekend. The latest escalation has shattered a brittle ceasefire declared after the Tehran-backed group attacked Israel in response to its war on Iran, which it launched with the US on Feb. 28.<\/p>\n
As part of a military operation that started several days ago, the Israeli Defense Forces said in a statement that they\u2019d crossed the Litani River and are near Shi\u2019ite-majority Nabatieh \u2014 one of the biggest cities in south Lebanon \u2014 which the IDF describes as a stronghold of Hezbollah.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI have instructed the IDF to expand the incursion in Lebanon. Our forces have crossed the Litani River and took dominant terrain,\u201d Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement citing the capture of the Beaufort ridge.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sunday\u2019s escalation comes against the backdrop of a tense stalemate between Israel\u2019s top ally, the US, and Iran over an agreement that could potentially pave the way for a permanent ceasefire between the long-time foes.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow my instruction is to deepen and expand our hold on places that were under Hezbollah\u2019s control. The capture of Beaufort is a dramatic change in the policy we are leading,\u201d he said, adding that so-called security zones had now been established by Israel in Syria, Gaza and Lebanon.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Earlier on Sunday, Israel Katz, the Israeli defense minister, said the IDF had planted an Israeli flag on the historic Beaufort castle near Nabatieh and that the expansion amounted to \u201ca permanent presence\u201d in the region.\u00a0<\/p>\n
French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the fresh advance and called for a ceasefire. \u201cNothing justifies the major escalation currently underway in southern Lebanon,\u201d he said in a post on X.<\/p>\n
Israeli airstrikes in response to renewed attacks by Hezbollah in March have devastated swathes of southern Lebanon and the capital, Beirut, and killed at least 3,370 people, according to the Lebanese health ministry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Read More:\u00a0How Israel\u2019s Battle With Hezbollah Fits Into Iran War: Explainer<\/p>\n
Since the weekend, thousands of residents of dozens of towns and villages in south Lebanon have been ordered to leave their homes by the IDF ahead of its deeper push into the region. The displacement is compounding an already-dire humanitarian situation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
More than 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed as well as four Israeli civilians. Many residents in communities close to the border with Lebanon have abandoned their homes. Israeli schools in a zone stretching 20 kilometers (12.427 miles) south of the border have been instructed to shutdown and restrictions have been imposed on public gatherings.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The US hosted another round of talks between Lebanese government officials and Israel, in historic negotiations that aim to end hostilities between the two and eventually lead to a peace agreement.<\/p>\n
Lebanon is demanding a complete truce and Israel wants a guarantee that Hezbollah \u2014 which has rejected the negotiations and isn\u2019t taking part in them \u2014 is completely uprooted from Lebanon\u2019s south.<\/p>\n
Read more:\u00a0Americans Hurt in Kuwait as Trump Sends Mixed Signals on War\u00a0<\/p>\n
Iran has demanded that its own peace deal with the US include an end to the conflict in Lebanon, effectively tying it to the fate of its protracted diplomat exchanges with Washington. US President Donald Trump had suggested earlier in the week that an agreement with Iran was near, but the absence of any announcement after a two-hour Situation Room meeting on Friday was the latest conflicting signal from the White House over the prospects for a deal with Tehran.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Netanyahu has been highly critical of previous efforts by the US to broker agreements with the Islamic Republic because of its hostility to Israel.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s used his military strikes on Iran to repeatedly urge Iranians to rise up against the theocratic system governing their country but the regime has remained intact despite Israeli airstrikes killing scores of its top leaders, including its supreme leader. Iran closed the vital Strait of Hormuz since the start of the war, disrupting energy supplies out of the Persian Gulf and sending oil prices soaring.<\/p>\n
Exchanges of messages between Iran and the US over the text of a potential memorandum of understanding are still ongoing, and the two sides are proposing changes, periodically, the semi-official Tasnim news agency, which has close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said without citing anyone. It added that no agreement has been reached and it\u2019s still possible that any deal could collapse.<\/p>\n
\u201cTalks and message exchanges are ongoing, and until a definite result is reached, it is not possible to judge,\u201d Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said, according to Tasnim. \u201cEverything being said now is speculation and should not be given importance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Read more:\u00a0Netanyahu Says Israel Will Expand Control Over Gaza Strip to 70%<\/p>\n
Lebanon\u2019s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said his country didn\u2019t choose this war with Israel and that negotiations were the least costly alternative. \u201cDo the negotiations come with guaranteed result? Certainly not. But it\u2019s the least costly path for our country and our people compared with today\u2019s alternatives,\u201d Salam told reporters at the Grand Serail on Saturday night.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Israel has also started scaling up its operations in Gaza in recent weeks as it prepares to expand its occupation of the devastated Palestinian enclave to 70% of the land, in line with a directive issued by Netanyahu.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Israeli leader did not give a time frame for the expanded land seizure, which would further stretch an Israeli military that\u2019s been at war for the past two and half years. The multi-front conflict sparked by Hamas\u2019 attack on Israel in October 2023 is the longest and most expensive in the Jewish State\u2019s history bearing a price tag of 405 billion shekels ($144.5 billion) through the end of this year according to the Bank of Israel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
#Israel #expands #Lebanon #assault #IranU.S #talks #balance<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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