Israel has dramatically escalated its military offensive in southern Lebanon, ordering all residents south of the Zahrani River to evacuate immediately, warning that those who remain risk being killed.
Israeli forces crossed the Litani River on Friday for the first time since 2006, issuing more than ten displacement orders within a single day as the offensive widened. Israeli troops have since seized Beaufort Castle, a strategically significant hilltop fortress near Nabatieh, southern Lebanon’s fifth largest city, which Israel’s Defence Minister described as a major tactical victory.
Despite Israeli advances, Hezbollah has continued resisting, deploying fibre-optic drones resistant to electronic jamming that have penetrated Israel’s multi-billion-dollar air defence systems. Twenty-five Israeli soldiers have been killed since fighting escalated in March.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned the invasion as a scorched-earth policy amounting to collective punishment, with Al Jazeera correspondents reporting widespread demolitions of homes and businesses across a zone covering roughly one-fifth of Lebanese territory.
Peace negotiations facilitated by the United States continue in Washington, though analysts note Israel appears committed to a purely military strategy rather than any meaningful political resolution, leaving Lebanon’s government navigating an increasingly impossible position.
