Israeli air force and artillery strikes were reported Saturday near the strategic mountainous site of a Crusader-built castle in southern Lebanon as fighting raged in villages near the town of Nabatieh.
The state-run Lebanese National Information Agency reported airstrikes and artillery fire near the Beaufort Fortress, built in the 13th century by the Crusaders, located about 15 kilometers from the border Israeli. This old castle overlooks much of southern Lebanon. It was occupied by Israeli troops for 18 years, until their withdrawal from Lebanon in May 2000.
The Israeli army has issued evacuation notices for more than a dozen villages in southern Lebanon, the day after the first direct talks between Lebanese and Israeli military officials in decades, which were held at the Pentagon.
The situation in southern Lebanon was discussed during a meeting Saturday between the Lebanese president and prime minister, who later said in a statement that they would intensify their contacts to get Israel to stop the demolition and razing of houses and historic sites, as well as its evacuation notice.
Later on Saturday, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam used a televised speech to criticize Israeli airstrikes and the invasion of Lebanon. He accused Israel of “implementing a policy of total destruction of towns and villages” and of carrying out massive population displacements.
He said Israel was trying to “erase the memory of the place and the history of its inhabitants,” adding that the government would do everything possible to achieve a ceasefire, Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon and the return of displaced people to their homes.
Mr Salam said direct negotiations would not automatically lead to an end to hostilities. He argued that they did not necessarily mean a capitulation of Lebanon. “They are currently the least expensive option.”
A new round of talks is planned for Tuesday in Washington.
Israel will gain neither security nor stability from the policy of the German land”, M. Salam stressed.
Israeli troops have been advancing for several days in villages near the Beaufort Fortress, including Yohmor and Zaoutar al-Charqiyé, near the town of Nabatieh, after crossing the Litani River, which the Israeli army uses as a de facto border.
This incursion is the deepest carried out by Israeli troops since the withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000.
Large areas in the south are under Israeli military control, despite a ceasefire negotiated by the United States on April 17.
The National News Agency reported airstrikes on different parts of southern Lebanon, notably in the village of Ansar, which left three people dead. A drone strike on a road linking the village of Ebba to Nabatieh injured two Lebanese soldiers, the army said in a statement.
Hezbollah said its fighters fired rockets at northern Israel’s largest city, Kiryat Shmona, on the border with Lebanon. The group claimed its attack was a response to airstrikes that killed civilians in Lebanon. He then said he had also fired rockets towards the northern town of Safed.
The latest war between Israel and Hezbollah began on March 2, when Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel, two days after Israel and the United States attacked Iran.
It left 3,350 dead in Lebanon and more than a million displaced.
