Lebanon and Israel have been in conflict since March 2. More than 2,000 people died and more than 1 million were displaced in the six-week war. Washington stepped in to broker the first public, direct talks between Israel and Lebanon in decades, paving the way for the current ceasefire.
Israel intensified its war on Lebanon for the second time in less than two years on March 2. Israel displaced more than 1.2 million people in Lebanon in a bombing campaign. Israel killed journalists, medical workers and devastated southern Lebanon’s medical infrastructure. Israel is occupying dozens of villages in southern Lebanon and preventing thousands from returning home. Israel damaged at least seven critical water sources in the first four days of the renewed conflict this year.
Lebanon and Israel will meet on Thursday to discuss a one-month extension of the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. The 10-day ceasefire between the two sides expires on Sunday. Hezbollah opposes direct talks with Israel, but might accept indirect talks mediated by the U.S.
Hezbollah carried out a strike on an Israeli artillery position in Kfar Giladi in northern Israel. It is the first such announcement since a temporary ceasefire between the two sides came into effect. The number of Israeli violations of the truce has exceeded 200 since it came into force.
Hezbollah fired rockets and drones into northern Israel on Tuesday, accusing the Israeli military of violating a 10-day ceasefire. The Israeli military said it struck the launcher from which the rockets were fired. Hezbollah accused Israel of attacking civilians and destroying homes in breach of the truce.
Lebanese who fought in the 1975-1990 civil war feel echoes of the intercommunal tensions and violence they witnessed then. The latest war, which erupted on March 2, has deepened enmity between Hezbollah and its domestic opponents, pushing Lebanon’s fragile state and society toward a breaking point.
Despite the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel in Lebanon, Israel's army says it has attacked people there. The military said in the evening that they had entered Israeli-controlled territory and posed an immediate threat to Israeli soldiers. Lebanese security circles said that two Lebanese men had suspiciously approached an area in the south of the country that civilians are not allowed to enter. The Israeli military did not initially comment on either incident.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah has largely held since Thursday. Israeli forces remain deployed inside Lebanese territory in a buffer zone. Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri warned that Israel would face resistance if it did not withdraw. The US is expected to host ambassadorial-level talks between Lebanon and Israel on Thursday.
Lebanon wants to extend the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. Its representatives will meet with Israeli envoys on Thursday in Washington, DC. The ceasefire is set to expire on Sunday. Hezbollah launched a drone at Israeli troops stationed in southern Lebanon on Wednesday. Israel's military killed two Hezbollah operatives who crossed the ceasefire line. Israeli officials are optimistic about the talks.
Lebanon is set to ask for an extension of the 10-day truce between Israel and Hezbollah on Thursday. Israel's attacks on Lebanon killed more than 2,400 people and displaced more than a million since March 2. Hezbollah and Israel had previously clashed for more than one year in 2023, escalating into a full-blown war in late 2024.