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Israel’s military has advanced beyond the Litani River in southern Lebanon for the first time since 2006 and appear poised to encircle the major city of Nabatieh.
Senior Lebanese military sources on Saturday told the Turkish state news agency Anadolu that Israeli forces had crossed the Litani River, which Israel has declared the perimeter of its unofficial buffer zone.
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Israeli forces are now on the outskirts of Nabatieh, a city that is key to southern Lebanon’s economy and a cultural hub for the region. If the Shia-majority city were to fall, it would mark a significant development in Israel’s war on Lebanon and subsequent official ceasefire.
Nabatieh is viewed by many Lebanese as a symbol of resistance due to its historic role on the frontline of Israeli assaults.
Reporting from the southern city of Tyre, Al Jazeera’s Obaida Hitto said Israel was expanding its air campaign in southern Lebanon and encircling Nabatieh in preparation for a potential assault on the city.
“It looks like Israel is trying to make this final push to encircle Nabatieh, breaking through the second and third lines of defence of Hezbollah and isolating the western Bekaa Valley from the south of the country,” Hitto said.
In a statement, Lebanon’s military said later on Saturday that “two soldiers were seriously wounded as a result of being targeted inside a vehicle by a hostile Israeli drone” near Nabatieh.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah said it fired rockets at the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona.
The group said it also ambushed Israeli soldiers near Ghandouriyeh in southern Lebanon, saying it forced them to withdraw, and fired rockets at a military base in north Israel.
‘Dangerous and unprecedented’ escalation
Israel has issued evacuation orders for at least 10 villages in southern Lebanon, as it expands its invasion, despite being engaged in ongoing peace talks with Lebanese officials.
The Israeli army’s Arabic spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, instructed residents in several Lebanese villages to evacuate immediately, warning they could be killed if they remained.
Al Jazeera’s Hitto said people fleeing their homes have few options, with more than 20 percent of the population – around 1.2 million people – displaced by fighting.
“Those options are turning into basically people living with relatives if they have that option, or people living in makeshift camps in public parks and public spaces. I’ve seen many families living in their vehicles for long periods of time,” Hitto said.
“Some of these families have been continuously displaced since 2023,” Hitto added.
The evacuation order came the day after officials from Israel and Lebanon met in Washington to discuss a permanent end to the war, which began in early March when Iran-backed Hezbollah began attacking Israel following the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.
On Saturday, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam denounced what he described as Israel’s “dangerous and unprecedented” escalation in the south, urging an immediate ceasefire and insisting that a “scorched-earth policy” would not ensure Israel’s security.
In a televised address, Salam also defended his government’s direct negotiations with Israel, saying that the talks were the “least costly path” for Lebanon.
Earlier in the day, Salam held talks with Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun to discuss the security situation and ongoing negotiations with Israel. According to the state-run National News Agency, they agreed to intensify efforts to end the war, which has triggered a humanitarian crisis.
Aoun also spoke by phone with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and stressed the importance of Israel respecting the current ceasefire.
Talks between Lebanese and Israeli officials to end the war are being facilitated by the US, and a new round is expected in Washington next week.
But Israel’s ongoing attacks and forced displacement orders are a further test to the nominal “ceasefire” in place since mid-April and repeatedly violated by Israeli forces. It justifies its actions by saying it is targeting Hezbollah as part of efforts to disarm the group.
Lebanese officials are working to disarm Hezbollah, but the task has proved extremely difficult.
Meanwhile, on Friday, at least 14 people were killed in Israeli air raids in southern Lebanon.
