Lebanon | News

As Trump pushes toward a limited deal curbing Iran's nuclear program and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, Netanyahu risks clashing with Washington by escalating in Lebanon

Hezbollah drones wounded IDF soldiers; one is severely wounded, the other two are in light and moderate condition. 'No restrictions as to using force', said IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir told army commanders in southern Lebanon

Israeli flags line the roads alongside tanks, jeeps and destroyed buildings. Senior IDF officers in the field admit there is no clear overall objective to the operation, as the military has replicated in Lebanon the tactics it previously used in Gaza

Many south Lebanon communities were already devastated in the 2024 war, but satellite imagery shows that recent IDF demolitions have caused even greater destruction. An Amnesty International investigator: 'This is basically the same pattern that we documented back in Gaza'

The victim's 19-year-old son was lightly injured in the incident. The two were working on the demolition of buildings in villages in southern Lebanon on behalf of a civilian company

In a separate incident, the IDF said troops attempted to intercept a 'suspicious aerial target' while operating in southern Lebanon. In an interview, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio maintained Israel had 'a right to defend itself from an attack from Hezbollah elements'

Four dead as Lebanon truce crumbles

The announcement followed the launch of two rockets and several drone infiltrations in northern Israel, as well as a 'suspicious aerial target' identified in the area where Israeli troops have occupied in southern Lebanon as part of the so-called IDF 'buffer zone'

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that in response to rocket fire by Hezbollah on the northern border town of Shtula last night, the Israeli military struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.

Israel and Lebanon extended a shaky ceasefire by three weeks, President Donald Trump said on Thursday, as the United States remained at a standstill in negotiations with Iran to end the Middle East war. Trump announced the truce extension as he met with ambassadors of the two countries and despite recent Israeli strikes in Lebanon and fresh rocket fire from Hezbollah, which was not part of the talks in Washington. “I think there’s a very good chance of having peace. I think it should be an easy one,” Trump told reporters on Thursday. The initial truce had been set to expire on Sunday. Still, the US president said earlier he was in no rush to end the war with Iran, adding that “the clock is ticking” for the Islamic republic as a third American aircraft carrier arrived in the Middle East. Iranian media reported blasts over the capital Tehran, a first since the ceasefire in the Middle East war came into effect two weeks ago. It was not clear what caused the explosions, though an Israeli security source told AFP ...

The looting has expanded in part because some Israeli military police checkpoints at exit points from southern Lebanon were removed, while others were never set up. IDF soldiers say that 'when there is no punishment, the message is clear'

The Israeli military on Tuesday said two soldiers would receive 30 days of military detention and be removed from combat duty over the destruction of a statue of Jesus in southern Lebanon. The decision comes after widespread condemnation of a photo shared online showing an Israeli soldier using a sledgehammer to strike the head of a statue of the crucifix. The sculpture was located in the Christian village of Debl in south Lebanon, near the border with Israel. Publishing the conclusions of an inquiry into the incident, the military said: “The soldier who damaged the Christian symbol and the soldier who photographed the act will be removed from combat duty and will receive 30 days of military detention”. It said six additional soldiers who “were present at the scene and did not act to stop the incident or report it” had been summoned for “clarification discussions”. Israel has conducted airstrikes across Lebanon and invaded the country’s south after Hezbollah entered the Middle East war on March 2. The fightin...

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the foreign minister and the military on Monday condemned the desecration of a crucifix after it was smashed by an Israeli soldier in a Christian village in southern Lebanon. A photo that emerged online over the weekend shows a soldier taking the blunt side of an axe to a fallen sculpture of Jesus on the cross. It was posted by Younis Tirawi, who describes himself as a Palestinian reporter and has also posted images of Israeli soldiers’ misconduct in Gaza. Reuters verified the location of the image as Debel, one of the few villages in southern Lebanon where residents remained through an Israeli military campaign against Hezbollah that began on March 2. The cross was part of a small shrine in the garden of a family living on the edge of the village, said Fadi Falfel, a priest in Debel. “One of the Israeli soldiers broke the cross and did this horrible thing, this desecration of our holy symbols,” he said. Netanyahu said that the soldier’s actions went against Jewish ...

The condemnations and apologies came after a video showed an Israeli soldier smashing a statue of Jesus in Debel, southern Lebanon, prompting an IDF investigation. U.S. Ambassador Huckabee called for swift punishment

The IDF said that an initial examination determined that the photograph is authentic, adding that 'the soldier's conduct is wholly inconsistent with the values expected of its troops.' Israeli strikes have reportedly hit many religious sites in Lebanon

The Israeli military published for the first time a map of its new deployment line inside Lebanon on Sunday, bringing dozens of mostly abandoned Lebanese villages under its control, ​days after a ceasefire with Lebanon took effect. There was no immediate comment from Lebanese officials or ‌from Hezbollah. Israel and Lebanon agreed on Thursday to a US-backed ceasefire in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. The deal, which followed the first direct talks in decades between Israel and Lebanon on April 14, is meant to enable broader US-Iran negotiations, ​but with Israeli forces maintaining positions deep inside southern Lebanon. Stretching east to west, the deployment line ​on the map runs 5-10 kilometres deep from the border into Lebanese territory, ⁠where Israel has said that it plans to create a so-called buffer zone. Israeli forces have destroyed Lebanese ​villages in the area, claiming their aim is to protect northern Israeli towns from Hezbollah attacks. It has ​created buffer zones in Syria and in Gaza...

Sources describe a policy modeled on Gaza operations, with contractors and heavy machinery demolishing civilian infrastructure south of the Litani; officials say it aims to prevent residents' return and entrench an Israeli security zone inside Lebanon

The death of Lidor Porat, 31, brings the number of Israeli soldiers killed in southern Lebanon since the start of the latest war with Hezbollah to 15

U.S. President Donald Trump announced a cease-fire had been reached between Israel and Lebanon and the two countries' leaders were invited to the White House to start a peace process. What conditions are at the base of the cease-fire and is it even possible to disarm Hezbollah?

Warrant Officer Barak Kalfon was wounded in southern Lebanon as forces were searching for munitions in a building in southern Lebanon when an improvised explosive device was set off. Two other soldiers were wounded in the incident, the IDF said