Israel has escalated attacks in southern Lebanon, killing two people and issuing multiple forced evacuation orders, as both sides prepare for US-mediated talks to extend the ceasefire.
Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported on May 15 that Israeli warplanes targeted the Ezzedine residential area in the town of Srifa, killing two people.
The Israeli military announced on Telegram that it had begun targeting Hezbollah infrastructure sites in several areas of southern Lebanon. Earlier, Israeli army Arabic spokesman Avichay Adraee issued forced evacuation orders for the towns and villages of Libbaya, Sahmar, Taffahata, Kafr Malek, Yohmor (Bekaa), Ain Tineh, Houmin al-Fawqa, and Mazraat Sina.
NNA said one person was wounded in an Israeli drone strike near a vocational school between the towns of Breqa and Zrarieh. An airstrike also targeted the town of Ain al-Tineh in western Bekaa.
Al Jazeera correspondent Rory Challands in Beirut assessed that in recent days Israel has carried out “one of the most intense waves of airstrikes in weeks.” “There have been many individual attacks — often by drones — targeting cars and motorcycles. Some occurred on the main coastal highway south from Beirut,” he said.
According to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, at least 2,896 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since the conflict reignited in early March. Simultaneously, the Israeli military reported that a drone launched by Hezbollah crashed into Israeli territory near the border, wounding several people, who were taken to hospital for treatment.
Representatives from both sides are expected to meet in Washington on May 15 for a new round of talks to extend the ceasefire, which is set to expire on Sunday. “The discussions are controversial in Lebanon. One reason is that Hezbollah is not at the negotiating table. Hezbollah does not want these talks to happen at all,” Challands explained.
“Hezbollah believes that any direct dialogue between Lebanon and Israel is essentially a surrender. They want, first of all, a comprehensive ceasefire, an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, the return of hundreds of thousands of displaced people to their homes, and the start of reconstruction,” he added, but noted that the Lebanese government believes these issues can be discussed in negotiations with Israel.
