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Cross-border escalation
Hezbollah launched rockets and drones toward Israel on March 2 after U.S.-Israeli strikes killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and the exchange has since been followed by intensified Israeli airstrikes targeting Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
“Katz Reaffirms That Israeli Forces Will Remain in the South, and Qassem Refuses to Evacuate Hezbollah Fighters Despite the Israel–Lebanon Agreement The U”
On March 24, Israel’s Defense Minister announced that Israel would occupy southern Lebanon up to the Litani River, while Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said Israeli strikes have killed at least 1,070 people and wounded an additional 2,966.
The conflict has also displaced more than one million people—roughly one-fifth of the country’s population—precipitating a significant humanitarian crisis, as the fighting continues across Lebanon’s border with Israel.
In parallel, the Israeli army called on Saturday for residents of villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate in preparation for strikes, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying his army had advanced deeper into the neighboring country.
Friday’s strikes on about thirty localities killed 11 people in the Tyre region, including a rescue worker, and wounded eight others, according to the Health Ministry.
Voices and disputes
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned Saturday Israel’s “dangerous and unprecedented escalation” in the south of his country and called for an immediate ceasefire, while defending the authorities’ decision to engage in negotiations with Israel as “the least costly path” for Lebanon.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Na’im Qassem criticized the Lebanon–Israel ceasefire announced in Washington early this morning, describing it as the product of “direct, futile, humiliating, and shameful negotiations for Lebanon,” and vowed to continue attacks against Israel as long as military operations persist.
Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel would continue its ground operations in southern Lebanon for the time being and that Lebanese civilians forced to leave their homes due to Israeli operations would not be able to return.
In Washington, Deputy Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby said the security discussions would serve as a basis for the political track for talks planned for June 2 and 3 in Washington, while Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio that a ceasefire was the essential prerequisite for any progress in the negotiations.
The BBC also reported that Qassem refused to evacuate Hezbollah fighters despite the Israel–Lebanon agreement, and that Katz reaffirmed the continued presence of Israeli forces in the south.
What’s at stake next
Israel’s evacuation warnings have expanded from seven villages in southern Lebanon and the Beqaa to additional alerts, as Avichay Adraee called for evacuating Mevidon, Shokin, Zubdin, Jdeideh Ansar, al-Zarariyah, Mazraat Kawthariy Riz, and Mashghara.
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The Al Jazeera account of a retired brigadier general and military and strategic expert, Khalil al-Jamil, said Israel’s moves indicate an attempt to impose new on-the-ground realities inside Lebanese territory, with widespread destruction and evacuation orders affecting areas stretching from Tyre to Nabatieh and Sidon.
Al-Jamil told Al Jazeera that Israeli forces have already crossed the Litani River and taken control of towns and sites including Zutor al-Sharqiya and Mizraat al-Hamra and Haymar, and that the advance toward Arnon is “a dangerous development” because it puts Israeli forces close to Nabatieh.
The La Provence report said the strikes have killed 3,355 people in Lebanon and displaced more than a million since the start of the war, and added that in the past week alone, 15 children were killed and 62 were injured, according to UNICEF.
In the background of the broader regional escalation, the Council on Foreign Relations said Hezbollah’s rockets and drones toward Israel on March 2 were part of a broader regional escalation stemming from the war with Iran, and that more than one million people have been displaced in Lebanon.
