Israeli Army Pushes Deeper Into Southern Lebanon Beyond Litani River, Reaches Nabatieh Outskirts

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam met on Saturday to discuss US-hosted military talks with Israel, as the Israeli army pushed deeper into southern Lebanon beyond the Litani River.

The Lebanese Presidency said the delegation "reaffirmed its commitment to prioritising a ceasefire" and that Aoun and Salam addressed preparations for the next round of US-mediated negotiations scheduled for next Tuesday and Wednesday.

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A senior Lebanese military source told Anadolu on Saturday that Israeli forces "have reached villages and towns north of the Litani River, including Zawtar al-Sharqiyah and Shqif Arnoun" and reached the outskirts of Nabatieh city.

The same source said the Lebanese army evacuated positions from villages and towns that had come under Israeli control, and stated that Israeli attacks caused casualties among Lebanese soldiers.

Lebanon’s state-run news agency said a fresh wave of Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon killed at least three people and wounded 11 others on Saturday morning, including a drone attack in Al-Marj in the town of Ansar that killed a father and his son and wounded seven other family members.

In Washington, a six-member Lebanese military delegation met Israeli military officials on Friday for the first direct military talks between the two countries in decades, with the talks aimed at reinforcing an April 16 ceasefire that had failed to halt cross-border fighting.

Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s second-in-command, called the discussions "productive" and said the military talks would inform the State Department-led diplomatic process.

Al Jazeera

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam denounced what he described as Israel’s "dangerous and unprecedented" escalation in the south, urging an immediate ceasefire and insisting that a "scorched-earth policy" would not ensure Israel’s security.

In parallel, Israel issued evacuation orders for at least 10 villages in southern Lebanon as it expanded its invasion, and Al Jazeera’s Obaida Hitto said people fleeing their homes had few options, with more than 20 percent of the population displaced.

Al Jazeera reported that Lebanon’s military said "two soldiers were seriously wounded" after being targeted inside a vehicle by a hostile Israeli drone near Nabatieh.

As Israel expanded ground operations beyond a security zone occupied since April 16, Netanyahu said troops had pushed past the Litani River and were operating across the front, adding that "We are operating in Beirut, in the Bekaa (Valley), across the entire width of the front".

“Israel’s military has advanced beyond the Litani River in southern Lebanon for the first time since 2006 and appear poised to encircle the major city of Nabatieh”

Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera said Israel’s military appeared poised to encircle the major city of Nabatieh, and reported that if the Shia-majority city were to fall it would mark a significant development in Israel’s war on Lebanon and subsequent official ceasefire.

Lebanon’s military sources told Anadolu that the Lebanese army’s priority was to strengthen internal stability, while the ongoing Israeli escalation preceded the US-hosted military meetings with Israel on Friday.

The Express Tribune reported that Israeli attacks since March 2 have killed over 3,350 people across the country, and Al Jazeera said more than 20 percent of the population—about 1.2 million people—were displaced by fighting.

Al Jazeera also reported that Hezbollah fired rockets at the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona and ambushed Israeli soldiers near Ghandouriyeh in southern Lebanon, saying it forced them to withdraw.