Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to intensify operations against Hezbollah on Monday, vowing to “crush” the Iran-backed group. The air force responded with waves of strikes across southern and eastern Lebanon that killed at least three people, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency. The escalation openly defies a fragile ceasefire in place since April 17.
The strikes hit towns near the ancient city of Tyre and the Bekaa Valley by evening. An AFP correspondent saw residents fleeing the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold. Three people died in the early hours.
They were in two cars and on a motorcycle, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported. The Israeli military had issued evacuation orders for 10 villages before the bombs fell. Colonel Avichay Adraee, the army’s Arabic-language spokesman, placed the blame squarely on Hezbollah. “In light of Hezbollah’s violation of the ceasefire agreement, the Israel Defense Forces are compelled to operate against it with force,” he said in a social media post that listed the villages by name.
Later on Monday, Adraee issued another warning. This time it was for residents of a building in Rashidieh and two buildings in Burj al-Shamali, near Tyre. The policy says one thing.
The reality says another. Despite the April 17 ceasefire, Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged fire on a near-daily basis. Hezbollah has regularly launched drone attacks against Israeli forces inside Lebanese territory and across the border, including several on Monday.
Netanyahu acknowledged the drone threat in a video statement posted to his Telegram channel. “It is true that they are attacking us with drones, including fibre-optic drones, but we have teams working on countermeasures and we will solve this issue,” he said. “We will intensify our blows, increase our firepower, and we will crush them.”
Hezbollah’s drones have become a political flashpoint inside Israel’s government. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right leader who lives in a West Bank settlement, demanded a disproportionate response. “There is an urgent need to put an end to the threat posed by Hezbollah’s explosive drones,” Smotrich said on Telegram. “For every explosive drone strike, 10 buildings must fall in Beirut.”
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir went further. He called for a “return to intensive warfare” and for Israeli forces to seize the Zahrani River. That waterway lies well north of the Litani River, which the Israeli army has designated as the boundary of the area to be cleared of Hezbollah fighters.
The army currently controls a strip of land roughly 10 kilometers deep inside Lebanese territory. The human toll keeps climbing. Lebanese authorities say Israeli strikes have killed more than 3,100 people since early March.
The Israeli military announced Monday that a soldier had died the previous day in southern Lebanon. That brings the Israeli military death toll since the outbreak of hostilities with Hezbollah to 23. One civilian contractor has also been killed.
Behind the military maneuvers lies a frantic diplomatic scramble. The United States and Iran are meeting in Doha, trying to finalize terms for an agreement to end the broader Middle East conflict. That deal could include the Lebanon front, where Israel and Hezbollah have been at war since March 2.
Lebanon and Israel, which have no diplomatic relations, are scheduled to hold another round of negotiations in Washington on June 2 and 3. A meeting of military officials from both countries at the Pentagon on May 29 will precede those talks. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun defended his decision to engage with Israel on Monday.
He added that his demand for a complete Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon was “non-negotiable.”
Not everyone in Lebanon supports the talks. Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem reiterated his opposition to direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel on Sunday evening. He repeated his refusal to have his movement disarm.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned Qassem’s remarks. He accused the Hezbollah leader of calling for the “overthrow” of the Lebanese government and of wanting to “plunge Lebanon back into chaos.”
Hezbollah MP Ali Ammar fired back on Monday. He called on the US administration to stop “interfering in Lebanese affairs and destabilising the country.”
Both sides claim victory. Here are the numbers. The ceasefire was supposed to stop the killing.
It has not. The diplomatic track in Doha and Washington offers a potential off-ramp, but the escalation ordered by Netanyahu on Monday moves in the opposite direction. The far-right ministers in his government are pushing for a wider war, not a negotiated settlement.
What this actually means for your family. For families in southern Lebanon, it means more evacuation orders, more nights spent fleeing, and more graves dug before a deal is reached. For families in northern Israel, it means more drone sirens and a military campaign with no defined endpoint.
The Litani River was supposed to be the red line. Ben Gvir now wants the Zahrani River. The geography of the war keeps expanding.
Why It Matters:
A broader Israel-Hezbollah war would not stay confined to the border region. Hezbollah’s rocket and drone arsenal can reach deep into Israeli population centers. A full-scale Israeli ground offensive north of the Litani would trigger a humanitarian crisis in Lebanon that dwarfs the current one.
The Doha talks between the US and Iran represent the narrowest window for de-escalation. If those talks collapse while military operations accelerate, the Middle East faces a multi-front conflict involving Iranian proxies across the region. The escalation also tests the credibility of American diplomacy.
The April ceasefire was brokered with US involvement. Its collapse raises questions about Washington’s ability to enforce any broader deal it negotiates with Iran. The Pentagon meeting on May 29 now carries a heavier burden.
Military officials from two countries that do not recognize each other will sit in the same room while their forces are actively killing each other’s soldiers. - Netanyahu ordered the military to “crush” Hezbollah, openly defying an April 17 ceasefire that has failed to stop daily exchanges of fire. - Israeli strikes on Monday killed at least three people in southern Lebanon, and the military issued evacuation warnings for villages and buildings near Tyre. - Far-right Israeli ministers demanded a massive escalation, including a 10-to-1 building destruction ratio and a ground push to the Zahrani River. - US-Iran talks in Doha and Lebanon-Israel negotiations set for June 2 in Washington offer a diplomatic path, but the military escalation moves in the opposite direction. What comes next will be decided in two cities. In Doha, US and Iranian negotiators will either close a deal or watch the window slam shut.
In Washington, Lebanese and Israeli military officials will meet at the Pentagon on May 29, followed by political talks on June 2. The success of those talks now depends on whether Netanyahu’s escalation is a negotiating tactic or a genuine shift toward a wider war. If Israeli ground forces move toward it, the diplomatic track is finished.
Key Takeaways
— - Netanyahu ordered the military to "crush" Hezbollah, openly defying an April 17 ceasefire that has failed to stop daily exchanges of fire.
— - Israeli strikes on Monday killed at least three people in southern Lebanon, and the military issued evacuation warnings for villages and buildings near Tyre.
— - Far-right Israeli ministers demanded a massive escalation, including a 10-to-1 building destruction ratio and a ground push to the Zahrani River.
— - US-Iran talks in Doha and Lebanon-Israel negotiations set for June 2 in Washington offer a diplomatic path, but the military escalation moves in the opposite direction.
Source: AFP
