Netanyahu Orders Intensified Bombardment As Israeli Forces Operate Inside Lebanon On Liberation Day

Lebanon marked Liberation Day on 25 May 2026 as Israeli forces continued military operations deep inside Lebanese territory and bombardment of civilian areas, with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun saying a complete Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon remains a “non-negotiable” national demand.

“Toggle Play Lebanon marks Liberation Day under Israeli bombardment Read more People in Lebanon have gathered to observe Liberation Day, which marks the date in 2000 when Israel ended its 22-year occupation of southern Lebanon”

Al Jazeera

Aoun said “Israeli attacks have not stopped, and our southern villages are still suffering under renewed occupation,” pointing to Israeli troops operating inside a self-imposed buffer zone extending roughly 10 kilometers into Lebanese land following the latest war launched against Lebanon in March.

Al Jazeera

The Al Jazeera report said Liberation Day marks the date in 2000 when Israel ended its 22-year occupation of southern Lebanon, and it framed this year’s gatherings as celebrations occurring “under Israeli bombardment.”

In parallel, TRT World reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to intensify its offensive in Lebanon, claiming to “crush” Hezbollah while attacks continued to violate the US-brokered ceasefire agreement.

TRT World also reported that four people were killed and three others injured in an Israeli air strike in southern Lebanon that targeted the cemetery of Kafr Roummane town in Nabatieh, according to Lebanese media and state news agency NNA.

Netanyahu said in a video statement posted on his Telegram channel on Monday, “I have ordered an even greater acceleration of our operations,” adding that Israel would “intensify our blows, increase our firepower, and we will crush them.”

The same TRT World account said the warning came as the strike in Nabatieh followed hours after an Israeli aircraft dropped incendiary phosphorus munitions on the forests of Lebanon's southern municipality of Qalila, igniting fires in citrus groves and agricultural lands.

BFM

Muslim Network TV reported that Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem criticized Washington, saying, “If this government is incapable of guaranteeing sovereignty, it should go,” and asking, “Where is the sovereignty if America runs the cogs of the Lebanese state?”

Muslim Network TV also said Lebanese authorities pledged to restrict Hezbollah’s military activities under growing Western pressure, while many in Lebanon accused the United States of demanding disarmament while ignoring Israel’s continued violations of Lebanese territory and international law.

In the same context, Muslim Network TV reported that on Monday the Israeli military issued evacuation threats to residents of multiple villages in southern Lebanon ahead of expected strikes, with Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee ordering civilians to flee at least one kilometer from their homes.

Arabic CGTN said the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed the extension of the ceasefire for 45 days between Lebanon and Israel, but it reported that bombardment still targeted the city of Tyre and surrounding towns, causing damage to homes and health facilities and leaving people injured and displaced.

“BEIRUT, Lebanon (MNTV) — Lebanese President Joseph Aoun declared that a complete Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon remains a “non-negotiable” national demand, accusing Israel of maintaining an illegal occupation under the protection of the United States despite an internationally brokered ceasefire”

Muslim Network TV

Muslim Network TV said Lebanon and Israel began US-mediated negotiations last month and were expected to hold a fourth round of talks in Washington in early June, after a scheduled meeting between military delegations at the Pentagon on May 29.

Muslim Network TV also said Aoun insisted that Beirut would continue pursuing a full Israeli withdrawal through negotiations, framing talks as an effort to reclaim Lebanese sovereignty rather than surrender in the face of ongoing aggression.

Today’s field report from L'Orient Today described Liberation Day arriving with “much of south Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley once again under bombardment and Israeli troops occupying at least 68 villages,” and it said that since the cease-fire of April 16, over 400 people have been killed, according to the Health Ministry.

L'Orient Today’s report added that Israeli drones had been buzzing low over Beirut since early Monday morning, and it described Biel, an open field in downtown Beirut, transformed into a shelter for people displaced by Israel’s war in Lebanon.