Since the ceasefire began in mid-April, the Israeli military has killed at least 331 people in Lebanon. It is now intensifying both its air and ground attacks.
In recent days, the Israeli military has stepped up its attacks on Lebanon despite the ceasefire. On May 25, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a new offensive, and in the following hours hundreds of airstrikes hit southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley, eventually reaching the capital, Beirut, which had been spared from attacks for several weeks.
Israeli ground forces have also advanced beyond the “yellow line,” which marks the buffer zone created by occupying a portion of Lebanese territory north of the Israeli border and by evacuating and leveling villages. Since the ceasefire began in April, the Israeli military has already killed at least 331 Lebanese people.
The last week of May was marked by heavy Israeli attacks against Lebanon. After the ceasefire reached in mid-April, linked to the war with Iran, Israel never completely stopped bombing the country, although at a lower intensity than in previous months. On May 25, however, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted a video on social media announcing an escalation of the military offensive, claiming it was aimed at Hezbollah, the Lebanese political-military organization accused of launching projectiles toward Israeli territory. “I said we must press even harder on the accelerator,” Netanyahu stated, referring to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and emphasizing the need to protect Israeli communities living near the Lebanese border. From that moment on, a new and even more intense wave of attacks was unleashed on the country.
The raids initially focused on rural areas in southern Lebanon and on the city of Tyre. Home to around 200,000 people, Tyre was placed under evacuation orders before Israeli forces struck several neighborhoods within a matter of hours. Other bombings hit the Bekaa Valley, located in eastern Lebanon near the Syrian border. On May 26 alone, more than 120 attacks were launched, killing at least 31 people, including 14 in the village of Burj al-Shamali, among them two children. The Beaufort Castle, a UNESCO-protected site, was also hit during the attacks.
The bombardments continued in the following days, and on May 28 they reached Beirut, which had largely been spared Israeli strikes since early May. The explosions targeted an apartment near Dahiyeh, in the city’s southern suburbs. Israel said the objective was to kill Hezbollah missile unit commander Ali Husseini.
Alongside its air operations, Israel also intensified its ground offensive. Troops crossed the so-called “yellow line,” which marks the buffer zone established in southern Lebanon roughly ten kilometers north of the Israeli border. This area consists of Lebanese territory that is under occupation and has largely been emptied of its population through forced evacuations, attacks on homes, demolitions and the militarization of roads.
During the Israeli advance into Lebanese territory, clashes occurred with Hezbollah fighters. The IDF ordered the evacuation of additional villages south of the Zahrani River, around forty kilometers north of the border, suggesting an intention to expand the area of occupied Lebanese territory. In the few southern villages still under siege where residents have been allowed to remain, conditions have become even more difficult. According to The Guardian, life in the village of Kfarchouba is shaped by strict rules imposed by the Israeli military. Residents are subjected to constant house searches for suspected Hezbollah fighters or weapons caches, and they are not allowed to be seen in the streets, even during bombings or other emergencies. A 15-year-old boy who left his home after hearing a woman screaming following an airstrike was reportedly killed by Israeli soldiers.
Since March 2, when the Israeli military launched a large-scale operation in Lebanon alongside its campaign against Iran, more than 3,300 people have been killed and over 10,000 injured.
According to Lebanon’s Ministry of Health, Israeli attacks have killed at least 331 people and injured nearly 1,000 since the ceasefire began in mid-April. Although Israeli forces have intensified their attacks in recent days, the bombings never truly stopped during the ceasefire period. On May 22, two days before Netanyahu announced the renewed large-scale offensive, a series of Israeli strikes killed ten people in the town of Hanaway, including six healthcare workers and a child.
According to analysts, the Israeli government is seeking to take advantage of the prolonged negotiations between Iran and the United States to strike Hezbollah and its infrastructure as much as possible, while also weakening Lebanon in a manner similar to what has already occurred in the Gaza Strip. Although an agreement between Washington and Tehran appears to be drawing closer, the Israeli offensive in Lebanon is complicating the talks. For Iran, any agreement must necessarily include an end to Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
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