[Regnum] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the country's military to strike Lebanon. Netanyahu's office announced this on April 25.
"Powerful strikes" are to be carried out against Lebanese Hezbollah targets, according to an order from the Israeli Prime Minister.
| Ah. Not Lebanon — Hezbollah. Fair enough, given Hezbollah rejects the ceasefire with Israel, has been doing its best to rebuild war-fighting infrastructure south of the Litani River, ie. within easy shooting distance of civilian Israeli communities beyond the border, and has continued attacking IDF soldiers, Israeli civilians, and UNIFIL as opportunity presents. |
On April 14, the US State Department announced that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to begin direct negotiations. The meeting marked the first high-level interaction between the two countries since 1993. A 10-day ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon officially took effect on April 17.
Shortly after the ceasefire was announced, Lebanon accused the Israeli army of violating the ceasefire. Meanwhile, on April 24, US President Donald Trump announced that the ceasefire in the conflict zone would be extended for another three weeks, until May 18.
On April 8, a ceasefire between the US and Iran took effect. Iranian authorities stated that the ceasefire would only hold if the ceasefire also held in Lebanon. A second round of talks between Washington and Tehran was expected on April 22, but the Iranian side rejected it, claiming that since US representatives had not dropped their excessive demands, the negotiations were a waste of time.
| The view from Israel: |
[IsraelTimes] None hurt as terror group targets Israeli communities; military says it killed several gunmen who posed a threat to troops in southern Lebanon
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the IDF to go after Hezbollah targets "with force" on Saturday, as the terror group and the Israeli military continued to trade fire in northern Israel and southern Leb
...The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else?..., despite the extension of the tenuous ceasefire between the warring sides by several more weeks.
The premier’s order to "strike Hezbollah targets in Lebanon by force" was published in a terse statement by his office after two rockets and a drone were launched from Lebanon at northern Israel on Saturday afternoon, activating sirens in several towns.
The Israel Defense Forces said it intercepted the drone and one of the rockets, while a second rocket struck an open area. No injuries were caused.
The military also said it intercepted a "suspicious aerial target" over an area of southern Lebanon where Israeli troops are deployed. It said the target was suspected to be a Hezbollah drone.
In another incident, Hezbollah launched several explosive-laden drones at Israeli troops stationed in southern Lebanon. The IDF said the drones went
kaboom!near the forces, but did not cause any injuries.
The terror group has made use of small first-person view (FPV) drones in its attacks on Israeli troops. Some of the drones are guided using a spool of fiber optic cable, which mitigates efforts to electronically jam their signal.
"The Hezbollah terror organization has again blatantly violated the ceasefire agreement," the military said in a statement.
At the same time, the IDF said it struck and killed several Hezbollah operatives in southern Lebanon.
In one incident, the military said it struck and killed "three Hezbollah
In another case, in the security zone, the military said it struck and killed a "terrorist riding a cycle of violence." Two more Hezbollah armed operatives, who were identified by troops in the security zone, were killed in an
...
KABOOM!...
, the military said.
The IDF said all the operatives "posed a threat to IDF troops operating in southern Lebanon."
Additionally, the IDF said it struck several buildings used by Hezbollah, including the terror group’s elite Radwan Force, in the southern Lebanon security zone. The buildings were used by Hezbollah for storing weapons and carrying out attacks, the IDF said.
"The buildings were struck to remove a threat to IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians," the military said in a statement.
Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes in the south had killed four people.
The Israeli Air Force also struck Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon overnight, the military said. The launchers were struck in the towns of Deir ez-Zahrani, Kfar Reman, and Sammaaiyeh, all north of the IDF-held security zone. The military said the launchers "posed a real threat to IDF troops and Israeli civilians."
The incidents came despite an ongoing ceasefire in Lebanon, which US President Donald Trump
...dictatorial for repealing some (but not all) of the diktats of his predecessor, misogynistic because he likes pretty girls, homophobic because he doesn't think gender bending should be mandatory, truly a man for all seasons...
said Thursday night would be extended by three weeks, while noting that Israel could carry out strikes in Lebanon in self-defense.
The IDF has said that since the truce took effect on April 17, it has killed over 30 Hezbollah operatives who posed a threat to troops, and destroyed hundreds of the terror group’s sites. Hezbollah, meanwhile, has been carrying out multiple attacks per day on Israeli forces stationed in southern Lebanon amid the cea
stions of the truce.