TEL AVIV/BEIRUT – Israel on Monday warned that displaced Lebanese driven from their homes by its military campaign would not be able to return until the safety of Israelis living near the border was ensured, as Israeli troops pushed into new parts of southern Lebanon.
In a briefing, Israeli military spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani told reporters that soldiers were now conducting ground operations in “new locations”, describing the latest offensive as “limited and targeted”.
The extended operation began days after Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military had been ordered to expand its campaign. He later warned that the country could face territorial losses and damage to its infrastructure unless Hezbollah was disarmed.
Israel’s military, which has occupied five positions in southern Lebanon since a November 2024 ceasefire with Hezbollah, sent additional forces into the country after Hezbollah fired a salvo of rockets on March 2, dragging Lebanon into an expanding regional war.
Hezbollah, a Shi’ite Muslim group, said its attack was in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader on February 28, the first day of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. Israel has responded with an intensive bombing campaign on Lebanon.
