Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the military to ramp up attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon, aiming to 'crush' the militant group. The announcement came in a video posted on Telegram late on May 25.
'We are at war with Hezbollah, and we will intensify the strikes,' Netanyahu declared. The order follows calls from far-right allies in his ruling coalition who have demanded an escalation of military action.
The decision comes despite a ceasefire agreement with Lebanon signed last month and recently renewed. Netanyahu stressed that Israel would not 'take its foot off the gas' but rather 'press harder on the accelerator.'
Shortly after the prime minister's statement, the Israeli military reported launching attacks on Hezbollah infrastructure in the Beqaa Valley and other areas of Lebanon. Lebanon's NNA news agency said the announcement triggered a wave of residents fleeing the southern suburbs of Beirut, Hezbollah's main stronghold.
The escalation order coincided with Lebanon's Liberation Day, marking the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon in 2000 after an 18-year occupation. On the same day, a series of Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon were recorded, including strikes on the Tyre and Nabatieh districts that killed four people and wounded three in the town of Kfar Reman. Airstrikes also targeted the al-Midan neighborhood in Nabatieh city, damaging homes and a Shia Muslim community center.
According to NNA, Israeli aircraft dropped phosphorus bombs, sparking forest fires near Qlailah and affecting orange groves and farmland. The use of phosphorus munitions in populated areas has drawn widespread condemnation.
Lebanon's Health Ministry said 3,185 people have been killed since Israel entered a state of open war with Hezbollah on March 2.
Earlier in the day, the Israeli military confirmed one soldier was killed and another seriously wounded in a drone attack in southern Lebanon. Two far-right Israeli ministers immediately called on Netanyahu to retaliate by bombing Beirut. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declared, 'For every drone blast, 10 buildings must collapse in Beirut.' National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir urged a return to 'intense warfare' in Lebanon and demanded cutting off electricity and advancing into Dahiyeh.
