Israel has declared all areas south of Lebanon's Zahrani River as combat zones and urged residents to evacuate ahead of strikes against Hezbollah. The Israeli military warned it would act with great force against the group. Talks are expected on Friday between Lebanese and Israeli military delegations at the Pentagon, as are a new round of direct negotiations next week aimed at ending the hostilities.
Israel has declared all areas south of Lebanon 's Zahrani River as combat zones and urged residents to evacuate ahead of strikes against Hezbollah . The Israel i military warned it would act with great force against the group.
Talks are expected on Friday between Lebanese and Israeli military delegations at the Pentagon, as are a new round of direct negotiations next week aimed at ending the hostilities. The Israeli military had earlier issued evacuation warnings for the southern city of Nabatieh, and swathes of the coastal city of Tyre and surrounding areas. An AFP correspondent said residents from threatened Tyre areas had converged on parts of the city not covered by the warning.
Authorities, however, warned that shelters were full and urged people to head to Beirut instead. The state-run National News Agency (NNA) later reported strikes on Tyre and its surroundings, as Israel's army said it was attacking Hezbollah command centres. NNA also reported a series of strikes on Nabatieh city, resulting in huge destruction in residential areas. Lebanon's army also said Wednesday that one of its soldiers was killed in an Israeli strike in south Lebanon.
Israel's army chief Lieutenant Colonel Eyal Zamir said that they are intensifying their operations in order to strike ever more severe blows to the Hezbollah organisation. The NNA reported Israeli strikes elsewhere in the country's south and in the eastern Bekaa valley, with Israel's military saying it was hitting Hezbollah infrastructure sites.
Iran-backed Hezbollah said its fighters clashed with the enemy forces at point-blank range in the town of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, just beyond the Israeli-declared yellow line in south Lebanon where its troops have been operating. An Israeli military official said Tuesday that soldiers had begun operating outside the yellow line, which runs around 10 kilometres deep inside Lebanese territory. Hezbollah also claimed three drone attacks on Israeli positions near the two countries' shared border in northern Israel.
Lebanon's health ministry on Wednesday raised the overall death toll since the war erupted on March 2 to 3,269, an increase of 56 from a day earlier following heavy Israeli strikes. At the site of a strike in south Lebanon's Burj al-Shemali, an AFP correspondent saw rescuers carrying a body bag from the rubble, which was littered with items including rugs and cushions.
After Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war with rocket fire at Israel in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes that killed Iran's supreme leader, Israel has repeatedly struck Lebanon's eastern Bekaa valley and warned residents to evacuate. The area links south Lebanon with Hezbollah strongholds in the northern Bekaa and is a key supply route for the group.
Lebanese military expert Hassan Jouni told AFP that the West Bekaa is a necessary corridor for Hezbollah members if they want to move between the Bekaa and the south and could become the focus of further Israeli strikes. He said Israeli operations might soon expand to target the north Bekaa intensively or even Beirut's southern suburbs, both areas that have been relatively spared since the ceasefire.
A military delegation comprising six Lebanese officers, headed by the army's director of operations Georges Rizkallah, will participate in the talks at the Pentagon on Friday. A military source told AFP the delegation will emphasise the need for a ceasefire, and will present the army's plan for a state weapons monopoly and the extension of state authority across the country.
Israel Lebanon Hezbollah Combat Zones Evacuation Pentagon Talks
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Israel's military says it's striking Hezbollah sites as Netanyahu vows to 'increase the blows'BEIRUT — Israel's air force targeted sites belonging to Hezbollah in Lebanon, including in the country's eastern Bekaa Valley, late on Monday (May 25) as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to intensify attacks on the Lebanese militant group.
Read more »
Israel Expands Operations Across Yellow Line into Southern Lebanon Amid Escalating TensionsFollowing the April ceasefire, Israel has pushed its military beyond the Yellow Line buffer zone into southern Lebanon, provoking retaliation from Hezbollah and raising concerns from the United States about the fragility of ongoing negotiations.
Read more »
Israeli Ground Operations Deepen in Lebanon Amid Hezbollah Clashes and Rising Civilian CasualtiesIsraeli military pushes beyond the Yellow Line in south Lebanon, triggering clashes with Hezbollah and causing significant civilian casualties. Multiple towns hit, a hospital damaged, and concerns rise over dam safety as the conflict escalates.
Read more »
Israel expands Lebanon operations amid fragile ceasefire, clashes with HezbollahIsraeli forces pushed farther north into Lebanon, clashing with Hezbollah along the Litani River, as the US-brokered ceasefire appears nominal. Prime Minister Netanyahu announced expanded operations to fortify control in southern Lebanon, while an additional battalion was called up. Overnight strikes targeted over 100 Hezbollah sites, including a strike in Mashghara that killed 12 civilians.
Read more »