Israel, Hezbollah fight along strategic river in Lebanon

Fighting between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Hezbollah became more intense on May 26, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Israeli military to strike harder against the armed group across Lebanon. “We will increase the intensity of our attacks and comprehensively defeat Hezbollah,” Netanyahu said.

On the same day, the IDF said it had raided more than 100 Hezbollah locations across southern and eastern Lebanon, targeting ammunition depots, command posts and observation points that the enemy used to attack soldiers and people in northern Israel.

Lebanese state news agency NNA reported that 12 people were killed in an Israeli attack on the village of Mashghara in the east of the country, including some victims who were family members.

Hezbollah said it launched rockets, shelled artillery and used drones to attack Israeli soldiers and combat vehicles moving along the Litani River towards the villages of Yohmor al-Shaqif and Zawtar al-Sharqieh, Nabatieh province. Channel Al-Manar of Hezbollah reported that the group repelled attacks along the river.

In recent days, the IDF has increased the frequency of attacks on Nabatieh city and other areas of the province of the same name, where the Litani River flows through. The Israeli army on May 26 warned people in Nabatieh to evacuate before airstrikes on this city.

The Litani River is located about 30 km north of the Israel-Lebanon border. Israeli officials announced at the end of March that they wanted to control the area in Lebanon stretching from the border to the south of the river to create a defensive buffer zone.

The clashes took place despite a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon being in effect. The Israeli and Lebanese delegations are expected to meet for direct negotiations in Washington, USA on May 29.

The Israel-Lebanon ceasefire agreement is considered increasingly unrealistic, complicating efforts to restore peace in the Middle East when Iran wants to end fighting on all fronts, including in Lebanon.

Israel announced that it would only withdraw its troops when Hezbollah no longer posed a threat to residents of the country’s northern towns. Hezbollah affirmed that it will continue to fight until the IDF leaves Lebanon and stops daily air strikes.

The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah broke out on March 2, after the armed group in Lebanon attacked the neighboring country in retaliation for the death of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The IDF then launched a ground offensive into Lebanon, displacing more than a million people in the south of the country.

Fighting has so far left 3,185 people dead and more than 9,600 injured in Lebanon. The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said 23 soldiers, one military contractor and two civilians were killed.