Israel ordered its army on Monday to strike the southern suburbs of Beirut, stronghold of pro-Iranian Hezbollah, intensifying its offensive in Lebanon, whose president condemned “a ferocious aggression”.
At the request of France, the UN Security Council is due to meet urgently on Monday, with President Emmanuel Macron estimating that “nothing justifies the major escalation underway in South Lebanon”.
This meeting comes while the United States is still in full negotiation with Iran to permanently end the war in the Middle East. Tehran reiterated on Monday that an agreement with Washington was conditional on a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saw the capture of the Beaufort Fortress in southern Lebanon, announced on Sunday, as a “major turning point” in Israeli operations, calling on Israeli forces to extend their “hold over areas that were under the control of Hezbollah.”
Clashes between Israel and pro-Iranian Hezbollah are almost daily despite the April 17 truce, which has never been respected.
The Israeli army has advanced deeper into southern Lebanon in recent days while continuing airstrikes. For its part, Hezbollah continues its drone attacks against Israeli positions in southern Lebanon and northern Israel.
Tragic
“In light of repeated violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon by the terrorist organization Hezbollah and attacks against our cities and citizens, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz have ordered the IDF to strike terrorist targets” in the southern suburbs of Beirut, according to an official statement.
Hezbollah is strongly established in the southern suburbs of the capital, as well as in the south and east of the country.
The Israeli army also ordered on Monday the evacuation of nine villages in the Saida and Jezzine regions in the south.
While his country is due to hold new discussions with Israel on Tuesday and Wednesday in Washington, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the latest Israeli operations, denouncing a “ferocious and reprehensible aggression”.
The capture of the Beaufort citadel built by the Crusaders in the 12th century, a strategic site overlooking southern Lebanon and part of northern Israel, opened the way for the Israeli army to advance towards the Nabatiyé region.
This conquest of Beaufort is “tragic” for Zeinab Fakih, who fled the neighboring town of Nabatiyé. And “it is now impossible for us to return home, because the city is largely destroyed,” she confided to AFP, interviewed in a shelter for displaced people in Saida, the largest city in the south.
Furthermore, on Sunday, an Israeli strike on the town of Deir Zahrani, in the district of Nabatiyé, left eight dead, including three women, and 19 injured, including five children, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
In this context, the head of American diplomacy Marco Rubio spoke with Joseph Aoun and Benjamin Netanyahu about the negotiations between the two countries which Hezbollah opposes.
“In order to move these talks forward, the United States has proposed a clear plan: Hezbollah must end all of its attacks against Israel. In return, Israel would refrain from any escalation in Beirut,” said an American official on Sunday evening on condition of anonymity.
Since the war began on March 2, more than 3,412 people have been killed in Lebanon and more than a million displaced, according to Beirut. The death toll is 26 in the ranks of the Israeli army, after the death of a new soldier on Monday.
Furthermore, Iran reiterates that an agreement with the United States is conditional on a ceasefire in Lebanon.
