Hezbollah Fighters Confront Israeli Troops Advancing in Southern Lebanon
Hezbollah reported direct confrontations with advancing Israeli troops in southern Lebanon on Thursday and Friday, including rocket barrages and small-arms engagements, as Israel continued strikes and issued evacuation warnings amid an unravelling ceasefire.
Hezbollah Engagements with Israeli Forces
Hezbollah said its fighters targeted Israeli troops advancing towards Majdal Zoun with repeated rocket barrages on Thursday evening, forcing a retreat, then engaged them again on Friday with light and medium weapons and rockets. [4] The group stated that its fighters first confronted the advancing Israeli forces near Majdal Zoun, around five kilometres from the western side of the border, using repeated rocket barrages that compelled the troops to pull back. [4] Hezbollah further reported that on Friday its fighters engaged an advancing force in the same area with light and medium weapons along with rockets. [4] The group also claimed additional attacks on Israeli troops in other parts of southern Lebanon during the same period. [4]
These reported clashes occurred as Hezbollah described its forces responding directly to Israeli movements in the south. [4] The statements from Hezbollah detailed specific tactics employed in the engagements, including barrages aimed at halting advances toward the town. [4] Such accounts underscore the intensity of the ground-level confrontations described by the group in the Majdal Zoun vicinity. [4]
Israeli Strikes and Evacuation Orders
The Israeli military issued an evacuation warning for three southern Lebanese villages while carrying out strikes across the south, including areas beyond the warned zones. [4] Israel's forces pressed forward with operations in Lebanon even as warnings were issued for specific villages. [4] Strikes took place in multiple locations across the south, with some hitting zones outside those covered by the evacuation alerts, according to Lebanon's state-run National News Agency. [4]
A Vatican-organized aid convoy heading to southern Christian villages was stopped by Israeli forces and forced to change course. [4] The convoy, organized by the Vatican envoy to Lebanon, had been directed toward villages whose residents had remained despite the ongoing conflict. [4] Israeli military personnel halted the convoy and required it to alter its route, as reported by a convoy member. [4]
Status of Ceasefire Agreements
Lebanon was drawn into the conflict on March 2 after Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei; Israel responded with strikes, a ground invasion, and occupation of parts of southern Lebanon, killing more than 3,700 people. [4] An April ceasefire was never observed; a new conditional truce announced last week after Lebanese-Israeli talks in Washington requires Hezbollah to halt attacks but does not oblige Israel to stop operations or withdraw troops; Hezbollah rejected the deal. [4] The fighting persisted despite the announcement of the conditional truce. [4]
The April ceasefire agreement in Lebanon failed to hold from the outset. [4] The more recent conditional truce, reached following talks in Washington, imposes requirements solely on Hezbollah to cease its attacks while containing no provisions for Israel to end its operations or pull back its forces from Lebanese territory. [4] Hezbollah rejected this conditional agreement outright. [4]
Broader Regional Diplomacy
Iran insists Lebanon must be included in any broader agreement to end the Middle East war; separately, the US and Iran signaled a memorandum of understanding to end the wider conflict may be close, with Iran's foreign minister stating it has never been closer and Trump reposting the comments. [2] Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said a memorandum of understanding with the United States to end the war has never been closer. [2] The foreign minister also stressed that media speculation about the deal should cease pending its finalisation. [2] US President Donald Trump reposted the Iranian foreign minister’s statement on his Truth Social platform. [2]
UN Response to Peacekeeper Death
The UN Security Council condemned the killing of a Serbian peacekeeper in Lebanon. [1] Such deaths represent the most tragic instances in a pattern of intimidation, endangerment, and attempts to undermine mandated activities of UN peacekeepers, according to the council's statement. [1]
West Bank Developments
Israeli actions in the occupied West Bank included the imposition of a curfew and a raid by National Security Minister Ben-Gvir in a Hebron neighborhood. [3] The Israeli army restricted movement of Palestinians and prevented them from moving within targeted neighborhoods. [3]
What to watch next: Further signals from US and Iranian officials on the potential memorandum of understanding, alongside any updates on whether the conditional truce terms in Lebanon see adjustments or continued rejection.
