The Israeli occupation forces expanded the scope of their air and artillery aggression on Lebanese territory, violently targeting towns and residential and commercial neighborhoods in the governorates of the south, Nabatieh and the Bekaa Valley, resulting in dozens of deaths and injuries and causing new waves of displacement.
This sharp deterioration on the ground coincided with the announcement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the issuance of urgent orders to the army to accelerate the pace of operations and intensify the strikes with the aim of striking Hezbollah, in coordination with the US administration to reserve what he described as "the right to confront threats on all fronts."
Fire belts and horrific massacres in Mashgara and Nabatieh
On the ground, Israeli warplanes carried out dozens of consecutive raids that formed a "fire belt" around the town of Mashgara in the western Bekaa, resulting in a horrific massacre that killed 12 people in an indefinite toll.
In southern Lebanon, the city of Nabatieh was subjected to a similar fire belt, which affected residential and commercial neighborhoods, in conjunction with raids targeting the towns of Kafr Rumman, Arabsalim, Shahhour, Yater, Haddaha, Jabal al-Batm, Dweir, Sarifa and Sharqiyah, which led to the death of 17 citizens, including four in Kafr Rumman and a citizen and his wife in Arabsalim as a result of the destruction of their house.
The aerial bombardment was accompanied by concentrated artillery shelling that reached the vicinity of the historic Al-Shukif Castle rest house and the towns of Arnon, Yammar Al-Shuqif, Zuter Al-Sharqiyah, Srifa, and Burj Qalawiya.
This escalation coincided with the forced evacuation orders issued by the occupation army to the residents of 10 southern villages and the Bekaa Valley, which prompted thousands of families to immediately displace to safer areas.
Hezbollah's "fiber-based" drones alert Tel Aviv
Hezbollah, in turn, responded with a series of precision attacks, using swooping drones and artillery.
In separate statements, the party announced that a gathering of occupation vehicles and soldiers in the Khiam detention center was targeted with two assault marches, the "Avivim" barracks, and a force from the military gathering unit in the "Shumera" barracks.
The party also shelled with artillery shells and in two batches a gathering of the occupation in the site of Metla, and targeted another site in the settlement of "Misgav Public" by the "Ababil" swooping helicopter.
The Israeli army officially admitted that one of its soldiers was killed and another was seriously wounded in the battles in the south, bringing the number of its declared dead since the start of the large-scale offensive on March 2 to 24.
Netanyahu acknowledged the deadly challenge posed by the party's new drones, saying, "It's true that they are calling us drones with fiber, but we have a special team working on it and we will solve this problem."
In the same context, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich approved an extraordinary budget of two billion shekels (about $692 million) for the development of anti-drone systems, inciting the destruction of the Lebanese capital, while National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for cutting off electricity to Lebanon and seizing the Zahrani River.
Israeli military mobilization
In a sign of the occupation's intention to expand the confrontation zone, the Israeli army began to immediately mobilize the soldiers who were discharged during the past days, demanding that they join the reserve service without delay.
The Israel Broadcasting Corporation reported that Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and the command of the northern region presented at the political level new operational plans aimed at breaking the existing equations for Hezbollah and expanding military operations, in preparation for discussing them at a high-level security meeting, at a time when the Israeli home front imposed strict restrictions on 43 settlements in the north for fear of the party's responses.
Aoun Israeli withdrawal is a national demand
On the Lebanese political level, Hizbullah issued a statement on the occasion of the centenary of the Lebanese constitution, stressing that "resistance to occupation and aggression is not a violation of the state or a violation of the constitution, but rather a legitimate national right protected by local laws and international obligations," stressing the need to implement the Taif Agreement and reject the projects of partition, federalization or external tutelage.
For his part, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun stressed, coinciding with the 26th anniversary of the 2000 withdrawal dates, that the complete Israeli withdrawal from the south, the extension of state authority and the exclusivity of weapons in the hands of the army and the legitimate forces is "a constant national demand that cannot be conceded."
Aoun explained that the option of indirect negotiations, sponsored by Washington, which is scheduled to hold its fourth round on June 2 and 3 (preceded by a security meeting on June 29), "will not be a surrender or a concession, but an affirmation of Lebanon's full sovereignty."
In the context of regional support, the Iranian Foreign Ministry reiterated its support for Lebanon's sovereignty, territorial integrity and resistance through two letters addressed by Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi to Speaker of the House of Representatives Nabih Berri and Hizbullah Secretary-General Naim Qassem.
It is noteworthy that the Lebanese Ministry of Health announced earlier today that the toll of the aggression since last March has risen to 3,185 dead and 9,633 wounded, in addition to the displacement of more than one million people.