Israel continues its strikes on southern Lebanon on Tuesday where Hezbollah attacks its troops, despite promises of appeasement from Washington which is sponsoring a new session of talks between Lebanese and Israeli diplomats.
President Donald Trump announced Monday evening on his Truth Social network that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had pledged not to send troops to Beirut and that Hezbollah would “totally cease fire.” The Israeli army nevertheless struck around twenty localities in the south of the Lebanonaccording to the National Information Agency (Ani, official).
« Écraser » le Hezbollah
The pro-Iranian Hezbollah, for its part, claimed several attacks against the Israeli soldiers who occupy part of the south, but without mentioning any shots on Israeli territory – even if the Israeli army announced having intercepted two projectiles.
Shortly after Donald Trump’s announcement, Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed that Israel “would strike terrorist targets in Beirut” if Hezbollah continued its attacks. On Tuesday, his Defense Minister, Israel Katz, returned to the charge, affirming that the United States had “validated the principle”. Benjamin Netanyahu also affirmed that his army “would continue to operate as planned in the south of the Lebanon“, where it is progressing, claiming to want to “crush” Hezbollah to protect the north of Israeli territory.
This Tuesday evening, Israeli strikes left five dead, including a child, and 48 injured, announced the Lebanese Ministry of Health. Among those injured in these strikes across the south are “a doctor and five employees of the Tebnine public hospital, which suffered damage in a new episode of the series of attacks carried out by the Israeli enemy against hospitals and centers health,” adds the ministry in a press release.
Netanyahou « complètement fou »
Arguing “repeated violations of the ceasefire”, theoretically in force since April 17, by Hezbollah and attacks against his country, Benjamin Netanyahu threatened on Monday to strike the southern suburbs of Beirut, stronghold of the Shiite movement, provoking a movement of panic among the population. According to the American media Axios, Donald Trump called him “completely crazy”, accusing him, during a telephone conversation, of compromising negotiations with Iran.
At the same time in Washington, diplomats from the two countries – which do not maintain diplomatic relations – began a fourth session of negotiations on Tuesday under the aegis of American officials. These negotiations, which Hezbollah opposes, “are the least expensive option for Lebanon“, reaffirmed the Lebanese Prime Minister, Nawaf Salam.
According to the Lebanese embassy in Washington, Hezbollah accepted on Monday an American proposal providing that Israel refrain from striking the suburbs in exchange for the Shiite movement’s commitment to stop its attacks on Israeli territory. The plan calls for the ceasefire to then be ” expanded to cover the entire Lebanese territory.” Hezbollah will not accept a “partial ceasefire” with Israel, a senior official of the pro-Iranian group said on Tuesday.
