Israel Expands Ground Operations in Lebanon Amid U.S.-Iran Ceasefire Talks

\r\n
[Financial News] Israel, which attacked Iran together with the United States (U.S.) in February, is expanding military operations targeting the pro-Iranian armed group Hezbollah in Lebanon. Ignoring ceasefire talks between the U.S. and Iran, Israel is moving north beyond southern Lebanon.
According to Xinhua News Agency, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video statement before a security cabinet meeting on the 26th local time that Israeli ground forces were intensifying operations in Lebanon. He said, "The Israeli military is deploying large ground forces and seizing strategically advantageous areas." On the same day, Israel's public broadcaster Kan TV also reported that Israeli ground forces had crossed outside the buffer zone in southern Lebanon and launched operations.
On the same day, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that the Israeli military had expanded ground operations beyond the Yellow Line in southern Lebanon. The Yellow Line is a buffer zone line set by the UN 5 to 10 kilometers inside Lebanese territory from the border, separate from the Blue Line, which was established after the Israeli withdrawal in 2000.
An Israeli military official said, "In accordance with the directives of the political leadership, the Israeli military is conducting targeted operations beyond the forward defense line to eliminate direct threats to Israeli citizens and Israeli forces."
Hezbollah joined the war in the Gaza Strip in 2023 and attacked Israel, then agreed to a ceasefire in 2024. After the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in February, Hezbollah resumed attacks on Israel from March 2, and Israel responded by expanding ground assaults in southern Lebanon and bombing major cities. The Government of Lebanon, which does not control Hezbollah, began the first round of peace talks with Israel on the 14th of last month with U.S. mediation and agreed to a ceasefire starting on the 17th of the same month.
However, Israel and Hezbollah have continued to exchange fire in recent days. On the 25th, Netanyahu posted a video message on Telegram, saying, "We are at war with Hezbollah, and we will intensify our attacks." He emphasized, "The military will never take its foot off the accelerator," adding, "I have ordered it to press even harder."
On the 26th, Hezbollah said it had attacked advancing Israeli troops in Jautar al-Sharqiya, southern Lebanon, using explosive-laden drones, rockets, and shells. Israel also said that on the same day it struck about 100 Hezbollah terrorist facilities and militants across the Beqaa Valley and southern Lebanon. In a statement released that day, Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health said 28 people were killed and 104 were injured nationwide in Israeli attacks over the previous 24 hours. The cumulative death toll since early March has risen to 3,213.
 
pjw@fnnews.com Park Jong-won Reporter