Dead and wounded in Zahrani. Wasalam: The results of the negotiations are not guaranteed
An Israeli soldier was killed and four others, one critically, were wounded during escalating operations and battles with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, the Israeli military said Sunday morning.
The army allowed the identity of the dead to be revealed, Mikhail Teukin of the Givati reconnaissance unit, who was killed after his position was targeted by a booby-trapped drone launched at night from Lebanese territory.
The army said four more soldiers were wounded in the attack, while the Israeli broadcaster said the number of IDF fatalities as a result of Hezbollah's drone attacks had risen to 8 since the beginning of March.
Occupying Al-Shuqif Castle and Transcending the Litani
In a remarkable development on the ground, Israeli Minister of War Yisrael Katz announced the expansion of the ground incursion into Lebanon, stressing that Israeli forces crossed the Litani River and took control of the fortress of al-Shukif (Beaufort), which is one of the most prominent strategic points overlooking Nabatieh and its surroundings.
Katz said the operation was "under the direction of Netanyahu" and that lifting the media blackout was aimed at "sending a clear message: Anyone who threatens Israel will lose their strategic assets in succession."
The al-Shuqif hill gains its importance from being the key to control northern Litani, an area directly overlooking Hezbollah's supply lines and main centers in Nabatieh.
Large-scale operation in Shabaa and Saluki
In parallel, IDF Spokeswoman Ella Wawiya announced that the Northern Command has been carrying out a large-scale military operation in the Shebaa Heights and Wadi Saluki for the past few days, with the participation of the Golani and Givati Brigades and the Seventh Brigade, under the command of the 36th Division.
The Israeli official explained in a post on the "X" platform that the operation aims to destroy what Israel describes as Hezbollah's infrastructure, and to remove the "direct threat" to the area of the Finger of the Galilee and the settlement of Metulla.
Prior to the entry of ground forces, the air force carried out intensive raids on positions in the area, within a wide fire cover that included artillery and tanks.
The data indicate that the Israeli army is operating in the vicinity of Nabatieh, one of Hezbollah's most important centers of gravity in the south, with preparations to expand the offensive "when needed."
Dead and wounded in the town of Deir al-Zahrani following Israeli airstrikes
In a related context, the Lebanese News Agency reported that Israeli raids targeted houses in the town of Deir al-Zahrani at dawn on Sunday, resulting in deaths and injuries, while rescue teams continue to recover bodies from under the rubble.
The agency said the strikes targeted homes where residents were sleeping, raising the number of civilian casualties in recent hours.
The Israeli army also issued an urgent warning to residents south of the Zahrani River to evacuate "immediately", threatening to bomb the area under the pretext of "removing Hezbollah threats", even though most of the victims of Israeli attacks in the past days were civilians.
Salam: Negotiating with Israel is less expensive and its results are not guaranteed
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said on Saturday that negotiating with Israel was the "least costly" option for his country, adding that "the results of the negotiations are not guaranteed."
This came in a speech delivered by Salam, from the government companies, one day after military talks between Lebanon and Israel held at the headquarters of the US Department of Defense "Pentagon", and in the wake of a major Israeli escalation and additional ground incursions into southern Lebanon.
Salam explained that "the results of the negotiations are not guaranteed, but they are the least expensive way for our country and our people, compared to other options today," considering that the negotiations "are not surrender because their goal is the complete Israeli withdrawal, the release of prisoners, and reconstruction."
Salam added: "What we have witnessed in the past two days is not just an expansion of the scope of Israeli aggression, nor just a crossing to the north of the Litani River to the outskirts of Nabatieh."
"Israel is no longer only targeting specific sites or areas, but is implementing a policy of comprehensive destruction of cities and towns and all elements of life in them, and practicing mass displacement that amounts to collective punishment, which is condemned in all international norms and laws," he said.
Salam pointed out that "this war was not chosen but imposed on us, so today we are determined not only to stop this war, but also to fortify our country and protect the future of our children in it," Salam said, adding that "we seek not to turn our homeland again into a mailbox for regional or international messages, or to allow it to be used as an open arena for the wars and conflicts of others."