The Israeli military has escalated its bombardment of southern Lebanon after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a intensified offensive aimed at “crushing” Hezbollah, in a move that threatens to shatter an already fragile ceasefire agreement. The escalation comes as hopes for a swift US-Iran deal dim, with Tehran citing confusion over Washington’s stance and Israeli interference as key obstacles.
Renewed hostilities break truce
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for several attacks on Monday targeting three barracks and a military post in northern Israel, describing them as “a response to Israel’s violation of the ceasefire regime”.
The truce, which came into effect on April 17, has been steadily undermined by near-daily exchanges of fire since hostilities first erupted on March 2.
In a video address posted on his Telegram channel, Netanyahu said: “I have ordered an even greater acceleration of our operations. It is true that they are attacking us with drones, including fibre-optic ones, but we have teams working on countermeasures, and we will solve this problem. We will intensify our strikes, increase our firepower, and crush them.”
Civilian exodus and airstrikes intensify
Following Netanyahu’s call for escalation, an Agence France-Presse correspondent witnessed residents fleeing the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold.
According to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA), the Israeli air force carried out a series of strikes on Monday evening in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon. Earlier that morning, dozens of Israeli airstrikes hit several towns and villages in southern Lebanon, killing three people who were in two cars and on a motorcycle, the NNA reported. Strikes were also launched near the ancient city of Tyre after Israel ordered the evacuation of ten villages, accusing Hezbollah of violating the truce.
Hezbollah drones and rising death toll
Hezbollah has been conducting regular drone strikes against Israeli forces both inside Lebanon and across the border, including several on Monday alone. Lebanese authorities have reported that more than 3,100 people have been killed since the start of Israeli strikes in early March.
The Israeli military also announced on Monday that a soldier had been killed the previous day in southern Lebanon, bringing the number of Israeli soldiers killed since the start of the conflict with Hezbollah to 23. A civilian contractor has also been killed.
Political pressure for further escalation
Two nationally oriented Israeli ministers have called for an expansion of Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who lives in a settlement in the occupied West Bank, wrote on Telegram: “The threat posed by Hezbollah’s explosive-laden drones must be urgently eliminated.” National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir called for a “return to intensive military action” and for “establishing control” over new territories.
Wider regional tensions cloud prospects for peace
The intensifying conflict coincides with fading hopes for a swift agreement between the United States and Iran. Speaking at the weekly press briefing of the Iranian foreign ministry, Esmaeil Baghai, a spokesperson for the Iranian negotiating team, said confusion in the US position and Israeli meddling were key factors explaining why a comprehensive deal was proving difficult to reach. He also stated that the future governance of the Strait of Hormuz was a matter on which Oman and Iran must reach an agreement, clarifying that the issue was not about a transit fee but a “payment for navigational services.”
