Israel expands ground operation beyond demarcation line in south Lebanon as clashes intensify

Lebanon says 3,213 dead since March 2 as Hezbollah drone attacks kill 11 Israeli soldiers

The Israeli military has expanded its ground operations in southern Lebanon beyond a demarcation line that Israel set up several kilometres inside Lebanese territory after an April 16 ceasefire with Hezbollah, two ​sources said on Tuesday.

The sources gave no further details on the extent ​of the advance beyond the so-called "Yellow Line".

The line, separate from the ⁠UN-demarcated "Blue Line" marking the frontier between Lebanon and Israel after Israel's withdrawal in 2000, forms ​part of a proposed buffer zone extending 5-10 kilometres into southern Lebanon, where Israeli troops continue to operate in dozens of largely abandoned villages.

An Israeli military official said the military was "operating in a targeted manner beyond the Forward Defence Line in order ​to remove direct threats to the citizens of the State of Israel" and Israeli soldiers "in ​accordance with the directives of the political echelon".

Read More: Lebanese president says full Israeli withdrawal remains national priority

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday Israel ‌would intensify ⁠strikes against Hezbollah, while a US official said the Iran-backed group had ignored warnings to halt attacks that risked undermining negotiations to end the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Hezbollah said on Tuesday it had targeted Israeli forces advancing toward the southern Lebanese town of Zawtar al-Sharqiya with ​explosive drones, rockets and ​artillery, while the ⁠Israeli military struck several towns in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley and issued new evacuation warnings.

Lebanon's health ministry says the cumulative ​toll from the Israeli offensive since March 2 had reached 3,213 ​dead and ⁠9,737 wounded by May 26, while the Israeli military says Hezbollah has launched explosive drones toward Israeli troops and northern Israeli towns, killing at least 11 soldiers since the ceasefire.

The World Health ⁠Organisation ​has said at least 608 people in Lebanon have ​been killed in Israeli attacks since the truce.