Netanyahu vows to ‘increase the blows’ against Hezbollah as Israel intensifies strikes in Lebanon 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signalled a major escalation in the conflict with Hezbollah on Monday night, vowing to intensify military operations against the Lebanese militant group despite a fragile, U.S.-brokered ceasefire.

Following his video announcement, the Israel Defence Forces launched a wave of strikes targeting eastern Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, the southern coastal city of Tyre, and the eastern town of Mashghara. The sharp increase in violence exposed the immediate limits of the fragile regional truce.

The Israeli military confirmed it struck more than 70 Hezbollah infrastructure sites in a single day. These targets included approximately 10 command centres and weapons storage facilities. The Israeli Air Force also targeted and eliminated Hezbollah militants on motorcycles in southern Lebanon, where Israeli ground troops continue to operate.

The escalation has triggered panic among Lebanese civilians. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that residents began fleeing Beirut’s southern suburbs, a prominent Hezbollah stronghold, shortly after the Israeli Prime Minister’s public address.

Technological Shifts and Tactical Evolution

The latest surge in fighting is defined by changing battlefield dynamics, specifically Hezbollah’s adoption of new technology. The militant group has recently deployed fibre-optic drones against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon and northern Israel. This particular weaponry has been utilised extensively in the war in Ukraine to bypass electronic jamming systems.

Prime Minister Netanyahu directly addressed this technological development in his public address.

“We will hit them. It’s true that they are shooting drones at us, fibre optic drones. We have a special team working on that, and we will solve that too,” Netanyahu said in a video posted on social media. “What this requires of us now is to increase the blows, to increase the intensity. We will smite them hip and thigh.”

Expanding Aims and Political Divergence

The conflict is generating significant political friction inside Israel and Lebanon over the ultimate objectives of the military campaign. Within Israel’s government, far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir have publicly demanded an expansion of the offensive, calling for strikes to extend deeper into the capital city of Beirut.

In his social media address, Netanyahu affirmed the state’s position, saying, “We are at war with Hezbollah.” He stated that the military has been instructed to “deal them a crushing blow” and claimed that the offensive had already “eliminated… over 600 terrorists.”

Despite the growing intensity of the campaign, Netanyahu emphasised that Israel has no intention of scaling back operations.

“But we are not removing our foot from the pedal,” Mr Netanyahu said. “On the contrary, I said to press on the pedal even more.”

In contrast, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has demanded a complete and immediate Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon. While the Lebanese government continues to pursue a long-term strategy to disarm Hezbollah, officials in Beirut maintain that a sustained ceasefire is necessary to complete what they describe as a highly complex task.

Fragile Diplomacy and Ceasefire Violations

The ongoing violence directly threatens a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement that originally took effect on April 16. Although both sides agreed to extend the 45-day truce earlier this month, daily cross-border exchanges have persisted. Both Israel and Hezbollah accuse one another of violating the terms of the agreement.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for at least 22 drone and rocket attacks on Monday, targeting Israeli soldiers, tanks, barracks, and buildings. The group’s media arm, Al Manar, stated these operations were a direct response to Israel’s continuous violations of the truce.

The breakdown of the ceasefire coincides with unprecedented diplomatic efforts. Last month, Lebanon and Israel initiated their first direct bilateral talks in over three decades during meetings in Washington. Military and civilian officials from both nations, which do not maintain formal diplomatic relations, are scheduled to meet this Friday again at the Pentagon, followed by additional negotiations in Washington next week. The primary objective of the United States and Israel remains the total disarmament of Hezbollah.

Regional Geopolitics and the Iran Connection

The current conflict began on March 2, when Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel in retaliation for an Israeli strike that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. That initial strike occurred two days after the United States and Israel launched coordinated military actions against Iran on February 28.

The local escalation in Lebanon has now become deeply entangled with broader diplomatic manoeuvres between Washington and Tehran. The Iranian government is currently insisting that any emerging peace agreement with the United States must include a comprehensive ceasefire across all regional fronts, including Lebanon.

However, Israel’s government remains firmly opposed to halting its operations against Hezbollah prematurely. Netanyahu recently noted that U.S. President Donald Trump had reassured him of American backing during a weekend phone call. According to Netanyahu, the U.S. President “reaffirmed Israel’s right to defend itself against threats on every front, including Lebanon.”

Hezbollah’s leadership has shown a mixed response to these international negotiations. In a public address on Sunday, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem stated he welcomed a potential deal between Iran and the United States, expressing hope that it would cover his organisation. However, Qassem explicitly rejected the direct, U.S.-brokered negotiations currently taking place between Israel and the Lebanese government.

Human Toll and Displacement

The humanitarian cost of the conflict continues to rise rapidly across the region. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, the death toll from Israeli strikes since the reignition of fighting in March has reached 3,185 people, with more than 9,600 others wounded.

Recent actions have heavily impacted civilian areas. An Israeli airstrike on the southern village of Kfar Rumman killed four people and wounded three, while separate drone strikes on a nearby municipal road killed three additional people. The ongoing bombardment has killed more than 400 people in Lebanon since the initial April ceasefire was signed, including a significant number of paramedics and emergency service workers. Additionally, near-daily Israeli evacuation orders have forced more than one million Lebanese citizens from their homes.

Israeli forces have also sustained casualties during this period. Netanyahu’s office confirmed that 22 Israeli soldiers and one defence contractor have been killed in or near southern Lebanon since March, while two civilians have died from attacks in northern Israel. Ten of those military casualties occurred after the initial ceasefire agreement was signed in April.

The Geopolitical Stakes

The sharp divergence between ongoing military operations on the ground and diplomatic tracks in Washington leaves the region at a critical crossroads. According to U.S. State Department officials, Hezbollah has ignored repeated demands and ultimatums to stop firing, launching over 1,000 drones and 700 rockets since the truce took effect in an explicit attempt to derail negotiations. U.S. diplomats emphasise that the current status quo is untenable, noting that the historic, direct talks between Israel and Lebanon threaten Hezbollah’s authority.

 A successful, government-led ceasefire would strip the militant group of its domestic power and its narrative of resistance. As military and civilian officials prepare to convene at the Pentagon to address the mechanics of the fractured April truce, the broader durability of peace remains heavily dependent on separate, sweeping negotiations between the United States and Iran. Whether these diplomatic channels can successfully reconcile Israel’s demands for the total disarmament of Hezbollah with Lebanon’s insistence on absolute territorial sovereignty remains the fundamental question determining if permanent stability can ever be achieved.

المصدر: MyJoyOnline (GH)