Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz on June1 said in a joint statement that they had ordered the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) to strike Beirut’s southern suburbs. According to the statement, the order was given following repeated Hezbollah violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon, including rocket and drone attacks targeting northern Israeli cities.
Israel’s Channel 12 News reported that the move came after the United States approved Israel’s requests to expand military activity in Lebanon, shifting from an initial focus on the country’s south to include airstrikes in the capital city, reports Xinhua news agency. Meanwhile, Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri that Hezbollah is committed to a comprehensive and immediate ceasefire, calling for efforts to compel Israel to halt its military operations, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported.
Berri said the conflict “does not lie in the resistance’s position on a ceasefire,” but rather in the continuation of Israeli military operations in Lebanon, which he said have displaced thousands of Lebanese civilians and continue to demolish villages and homes in various areas.
Any effort to de-escalate the conflict requires genuine guarantees that would oblige Israel to fully stop its attacks, he added. Additionally, the IDF on Sunday said it had captured Beaufort Castle after entering the Beaufort Ridge and Wadi al-Saluki areas in southern Lebanon.
According to the IDF, the operation is focused on establishing operational control over the Beaufort Ridge and the Wadi al-Saluki area, as well as degrading Hezbollah’s capabilities in the region. According to the IDF, Hezbollah directed military and combat activities from the Beaufort Ridge and carried out numerous attacks from the area.
