Israel intensified its military campaign against Hezbollah on Tuesday, striking targets across Lebanon after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the military to \u201cincrease the blows\u201d against the Iran-backed militant group.<\/p>\n
The Israeli military said it had struck more than 100 Hezbollah sites overnight in southern and eastern Lebanon, including weapons storage facilities and command centers. It also issued an evacuation warning on Tuesday for the entire city of Nabatieh, one of the largest cities in southern Lebanon, signaling that airstrikes there were imminent.<\/p>\n
Mashghara, a town in the Bekaa Valley, was among the areas that were hit overnight, killing at least 11 people, including two children, according to Lebanon\u2019s health ministry. Asked about the strike, the Israeli military referred to an earlier statement saying that \u201cseveral strikes conducted within seconds\u201d in the area had targeted \u201cHezbollah infrastructure sites.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are at war with Hezbollah,\u201d Mr. Netanyahu said in a video statement on Monday night, adding that he had ordered the military to \u201cpress on the pedal even more.\u201d<\/p>\n
The latest round of fighting began in March, shortly after the U.S.-Israeli offensive against Iran, when Hezbollah fired rockets across the border in support of Tehran. A U.S.-brokered cease-fire took effect in April, but tit-for-tat attacks have continued, with each side accusing the other of violating the truce.<\/p>\n
Now, the violence in Lebanon appears to be intensifying just as President Trump and Iranian officials signal progress toward a possible deal to end the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.<\/p>\n
The terms of any U.S.-Iran agreement remain murky, but three senior Iranian officials told The New York Times over the weekend that it would also halt fighting on all fronts, including Lebanon. However, Mr. Netanyahu appeared to double down on Sunday, saying he had \u201creaffirmed Israel\u2019s right to defend itself against threats on every front, including Lebanon\u201d during a weekend phone call with Mr. Trump.<\/p>\n
Hezbollah said on Tuesday that it had launched a string of drone and rocket attacks on Israeli troops in southern Lebanon, where Israeli forces have carved out what they call a \u201cforward defense line\u201d extending several miles deep after invading during the war.<\/p>\n
Hezbollah has increasingly relied on low-cost, fiber-optic drones, which are difficult to jam, to target Israeli troops. The attacks have exposed an Israeli vulnerability, even after weeks of airstrikes and ground operations aimed at degrading Hezbollah\u2019s capabilities.<\/p>\n
As a result, Mr. Netanyahu has faced mounting pressure from Israeli hard-liners to broaden the campaign in Lebanon, including by resuming strikes on Beirut and its southern suburbs. Such a move would further strain the already fragile cease-fire and complicate U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict.<\/p>\n