Amid ongoing peace negotiations in Islamabad, Israel has launched extensive airstrikes in southern Lebanon, while Iran maintains that Lebanon must be part of any ceasefire agreement.
Israel is conducting massive airstrikes in southern Lebanon amidst peace talks in Islamabad, while Iran insists on including Lebanon in any ceasefire agreement.
Reports indicate that the Israel Defense Forces have struck more than 200 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon over the past 24 hours.
It appears that the most intense attacks are taking place in Nabatieh. Since early morning, the Israeli army and air force have carried out bombardments in several locations, destroying buildings, homes, and vital civilian infrastructure. There are reports of numerous casualties.
This region also serves as a Hezbollah stronghold. The Iranian-backed militia has claimed responsibility for attacks on Israeli military bases and settlements in northern Israel.
Israel states that it targeted Hezbollah positions during the strikes and killed a significant number of the group’s fighters.
Iran and its allies have blamed the Lebanese government for complicating ceasefire efforts.
“Lebanese PM Nawaf Salam is obstructing a ceasefire in Lebanon because he is insisting on reaching an agreement through direct Lebanon-Israel negotiations and normalization talks, rather than through Iran-Trump negotiations. It is astonishing…” remarked Seyyed Mohammad Marandi, a close associate of the Iranian government who is also part of the Iranian delegation in Islamabad.
On Thursday, a major bomb blast in Nabatieh killed 20 people—including 13 Lebanese security personnel—and injured more than 60 others.
However, there have been no airstrikes in Beirut over the past 48 hours, even as Israeli drones continue to hover overhead, creating psychological distress and fear among the local population.
The Lebanese government states that it has established contact with Israel, and ceasefire negotiations are expected to commence in Washington on Tuesday.
Nevertheless, Israel has denied that it will engage in ceasefire negotiations with Hezbollah.
The attack on the Lebanese army on Thursday marks the largest assault on the military since the outbreak of the war. The Lebanese army is not a party to this conflict and has withdrawn from Israeli-occupied territories as well as from areas where it had been instructed to vacate.
These latest attacks follow a series of devastating airstrikes across Lebanon—including in Beirut—on Wednesday, which left more than 300 people dead and over 1,200 injured.
According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, Israeli attacks have killed more than 1,900 people and injured over 6,000 since the war began.