JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the Israel Defense Forces to intensify strikes against Hezbollah, declaring in a video statement that Israel is “at war with Hezbollah” and instructing the military to “deal them a crushing blow,” according to a statement released by his office on Thursday. The escalation comes as IDF launched waves of strikes across Lebanon — including the eastern Bekaa Valley — in what military officials described as the most intense bombardment since the April ceasefire began to fray.
The IDF said it struck more than 100 Hezbollah infrastructure sites in simultaneous attacks overnight. Lebanese local media reported at least 12 people killed in an attack on the village of Mashghara in the Bekaa Valley. An evacuation order was issued for the southern town of Nabatieh as hours of Israeli strikes continued, with the IDF urging residents to move north of the Litani River.
Hezbollah responded with 22 drone and rocket attacks, targeting Israeli soldiers, tanks, barracks and buildings inside Israel, according to a statement from the group. The retaliation was in response to what Hezbollah called Israel’s “violation of the ceasefire.” Israeli military officials said they are particularly concerned about Hezbollah’s deployment of new fibre-optic drones — a tactic that has evolved significantly against Israeli troops occupying a strip of southern Lebanon.
Two far-right Israeli ministers — Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir — have publicly called for an expansion of the military campaign, including operations into Beirut. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has demanded a complete Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, calling withdrawal non-negotiable. The Lebanese army said in a statement it was “fully prepared to defend Lebanese sovereignty” if Israel expands its ground operation.
Negotiations between Lebanese and Israeli officials are due to be held in Washington next week. The escalation comes as an emerging US-Iran peace framework appears close to conclusion — Iran has insisted any deal must include a complete ceasefire on all regional fronts, a condition Israel has firmly opposed. President Trump told reporters at the White House he would make a “final determination” on the Iran framework following meetings with his advisers, saying he believed a deal was “very close” but that Iran needed to show “good faith.”
More than 400 people in Lebanon have been killed by Israeli bombardment since the ceasefire agreement was signed on 16 April, including paramedics and emergency workers, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health. Over one million people remain displaced. Ten Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire. The conflict escalated after the US and Israel launched a war against Iran on 28 February, with Hezbollah drawing in after firing rockets in retaliation for an Israeli strike that killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
