Tel Aviv announced that the Israeli army had orders to intensify strikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut. Emmanuel Macron affirms that “nothing justifies” this military escalation.
Israel ordered its army on Monday June 1 to strike the southern suburbs of Beirut, stronghold of pro-Iranian Hezbollah, intensifying its ground offensive in Lebanon, the deepest incursion into its neighbor in two decades.
At the request of France, the UN Security Council must meet urgently this Monday, with President Emmanuel Macron estimating that “nothing justifies the major escalation underway in South Lebanon”.
Tehran, in the middle of negotiations with Washington to put a lasting end to the war in the Middle East, reiterated on Monday that an agreement was conditional on a cease-fire in Lebanon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who ordered Sunday May 31 to intensify his offensive in Lebanon, announced Monday that his army would resume strikes on the southern suburbs.
“In light of repeated violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon by the terrorist organization Hezbollah and attacks on our cities and citizens, (…) Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the IDF to strike terrorist targets” in the southern suburbs of Beirut, announced an official press release.
“A major turning point” after the capture of Beaufort Fortress according to Israel
After the day of April 8 during which more than 350 people were killed in massive Israeli strikes on Lebanon, the majority of them in the Beirut region, diplomatic pressure was exerted on Israel to refrains from targeting the capital and its suburbs.
Two strikes in May targeted the southern suburbs of Beirut and the south of the capital, with Israel claiming that they were directed against Hezbollah officials.
Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Sunday the capture by the Israeli army of the Beaufort Fortress in southern Lebanon, speaking of a “major turning point” in Israeli operations and calling on Israeli forces to extend their “hold over areas that were under the control of Hezbollah”.
The capture of this citadel built by the Crusaders in the 12th century, a strategic site overlooking southern Lebanon and part of northern Israel, opened the way for the Israeli army to advance towards the Nabatiyé region. This is the deepest incursion into Lebanese territory since 2006, during a previous conflict.
An advance of the Israeli army in southern Lebanon
Clashes between Israel and pro-Iranian Hezbollah are almost daily despite the truce of April 17, which has never been respected.
The Israeli army has advanced deeper into southern Lebanon in recent days while continuing air strikes. For its part, Hezbollah continues its drone attacks against Israeli positions in southern Lebanon and northern Israel.
Strongly established in the southern suburbs of the capital, as well as in the south and east of the country, the Shiite movement claimed responsibility on Monday for a missile attack carried out against a military objective in the Tiberias region, in northern Israel.
The Lebanese president denounces a “fierce and reprehensible aggression”
The Israeli army, which continues its strikes in the south, on Monday ordered the evacuation of nine villages in the Saida and Jezzine regions, according to the National Information Agency (ANI, official).
While his country is due to hold new discussions with Israel on Tuesday June 2 and Wednesday June 3 in Washington, the Lebanese President, Joseph Aoun, condemned the latest Israeli operations, denouncing a “fierce and reprehensible aggression”.
In this context, the head of American diplomacy Marco Rubio spoke with Joseph Aoun and Benjamin Netanyahu about the negotiations between the two countries which Hezbollah opposes.
“In order to advance these talks, the United States has proposed a clear plan: Hezbollah must end all its attacks against Israel. In return, Israel would refrain from any escalation in Beirut,” said an American official on Sunday evening on condition of anonymity.
Since the start of the war on March 2, more than 3,412 people have been killed in Lebanon and more than a million displaced, according to Beirut. The death toll is 26 in the ranks of the Israeli army, after the death of a new soldier on Monday.
