Things are heating up again on Israel’s northern border, with Netanyahu saying the gloves are coming off against Hezbollah.

Here’s the gist, as reported by cbinews.tv:

So, Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu has said his country is going to “intensify” its strikes against Hezbollah, and it looks like that’s already kicking off.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed they’ve started a fresh wave of attacks across Lebanon. According to the IDF, they’ve hit Hezbollah targets in the eastern Bekaa Valley and other areas, striking what they say were “more than 100 Hezbollah infrastructure sites and terrorists” on Tuesday morning alone.

One strike in the village of Mashghara reportedly killed 12 people, Lebanese local media said. The IDF claimed it took out “terrorists” there within seconds of identifying activity. They’ve also put out an evacuation order for the southern town of Nabatieh, warning more strikes could be coming.

In a video statement, Netanyahu didn’t mince words: “We are at war with Hezbollah” and he’s told the military to “deal them a crushing blow”. He reckons over 600 “terrorists” have been eliminated in the last few weeks, but says now’s the time to “increase the strikes, to increase the intensity”. Two of his far-right ministers, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, are even pushing to expand the campaign into Beirut.

Hezbollah isn’t sitting quiet, though. The Iran-backed Shia Muslim armed group said it fired back with 22 drone and rocket attacks on Monday. They claim they targeted Israeli soldiers, tanks, barracks and buildings across southern Lebanon and northern Israel. Israel’s especially worried about Hezbollah’s new fibre optic drones that are being used against troops in southern Lebanon and Israeli villages near the border.

All this is happening even though Lebanon and Israel agreed earlier this month to extend a 45-day ceasefire that started back in mid-April. But let’s be honest, attacks haven’t really stopped.

Since that ceasefire was signed on 16 April, ten Israeli soldiers have been killed, while more than 400 people in Lebanon have died from Israeli bombardment, including paramedics and emergency workers, according to Lebanese officials. Israel’s also been issuing near-daily evacuation orders in southern Lebanon, adding to the one million+ people already displaced.

The timing’s messy too. Officials from Lebanon and Israel are supposed to head to Washington next week for more talks. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun wants a full Israeli withdrawal from the south. Meanwhile, Iran’s saying any peace deal with the US needs a complete ceasefire on all fronts. Israel’s government isn’t keen on stopping the Hezbollah fight, though.

For context, cbinews.tv notes Lebanon got pulled into this latest round after the US and Israel launched a war against Iran on 28 February. Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel after an Israeli strike killed Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Israel hit back with an air campaign and ground invasion, and the Lebanese Ministry of Health says over 3,000 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since then.

Source: cbinews.tv

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