Netanyahu orders further escalation of strikes in Lebanon to eliminate Hezbollah. Israel says it has already killed hundreds of its fighters despite the cease-fire.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday that he had ordered the armed forces to further intensify attacks in Lebanon to “eliminate” the militant group Hezbollah. TASR informs about it according to the reports of the AFP agency and the al-Jazeera station.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military reported on the X network that it had launched a new series of strikes targeting Hezbollah targets in the Bikaa Valley and several other areas in Lebanon.
Netanyahu’s decision
“We will intensify our attacks against Hezbollah and we will not stop,” Netanyahu said in a video on the Telegram platform. According to him, the Israeli army has killed 600 members of Hezbollah in recent weeks, which he also accused of carrying out drone attacks on Israel. According to Netanyahu, the Jewish state is at war with Hezbollah.
The ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon has been officially in effect since April 16. In mid-May, after negotiations between the representatives of both countries in Washington, it was extended by another 45 days. Direct negotiations aim to ensure lasting peace between Lebanon and Israel.
Despite the ceasefire, tensions are rising
Despite the ceasefire, Israel has stepped up attacks in southern Lebanon, saying it is targeting Hezbollah targets. The Shiite militant movement continues to fire sporadically into the territory of the Jewish state and attack Israeli targets in Lebanon.
Hezbollah reported on Saturday that Iran had assured it that it would not stop supporting allied militant groups in the Middle East. Part of the message from Tehran, according to the movement, was that Iran’s latest proposal to end the war with the US included a ceasefire in Lebanon.
The Lebanese movement launched its attack on Israel two days after US and Israeli strikes on February 28 sparked a Middle East war. Hezbollah wanted to avenge the death of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in this way.
