Israel expands push into Lebanon as Hezbollah launches barrage

An Israeli flag flies over the medieval Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon on Sunday. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the IDF had seized the fortress the regiona where it has expanded its operations against the pro-Iranian Hezbollah. Photo by AFP STRINGER /AFP via Getty Images

Article content

Israel expanded its ground assault in Lebanon with its broadest incursion into the country for a quarter of a century as Hezbollah — Iran’s most powerful regional ally — stepped up attacks on Israel’s north.

Article content

According to the Israeli military, Hezbollah fired more than 300 “projectiles” 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 U.S. on Feb. 28.

Article content

Article content

Article content

Topping a military operation that started several days ago, the Israeli Defence Forces said in a statement that they’d crossed the Litani River and are near Shi’ite-majority Nabatieh — one of the biggest cities in south Lebanon — which the IDF describes as a stronghold of Hezbollah.

Article content

Article content

“I have instructed the IDF to expand the incursion in Lebanon. Our forces have crossed the Litani River and took dominant terrain,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement citing the capture of the Beaufort ridge.

Article content

Sunday’s escalation comes against the backdrop of a tense stalemate between Israel’s top ally, the U.S., and Iran over an agreement that could potentially pave the way for a permanent ceasefire between the long-time foes.

Article content

“Now my instruction is to deepen and expand our hold on places that were under Hezbollah’s control. The capture of Beaufort is a dramatic change in the policy we are leading,” he said, adding that so-called security zones had now been established by Israel in Syria, Gaza and Lebanon.

Article content

Earlier on Sunday, Israel Katz, the Israeli defence minister, said the IDF had planted an Israeli flag on the historic Beaufort castle near Nabatieh and said the expansion amounted to “a permanent presence” in the region.

Article content

Article content

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.

Article content

A photograph taken from the Marjayoun area in southern Lebanon shows smoke rising after an Israeli air strike on the village of Arnoun on May 30. Photo by - /AFP

Article content

Article content

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.

Article content

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 kilometres (12.427 miles) south of the border have been instructed to shut down, and restrictions have been imposed on public gatherings.

Article content

The U.S. 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.

Article content

Lebanon is demanding a complete truce and Israel wants a guarantee that Hezbollah — which has rejected the negotiations and isn’t taking part in them — is completely uprooted from Lebanon’s south.