BEIRUT (AP) — Israeli jets struck three towns in southern Lebanon on Thursday after urging residents to leave, marking an escalation in their near-daily strikes on the country.
The airstrikes came hours after Hezbollah urged the Lebanese government not to enter negotiations with Israel.
Israeli Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee warned residents in Tayba near the border, Tayr Debba located just east of the coastal city of Tyre, and Aita al-Jabal, to flee 500 meters away from residential buildings they are targeting, which they say has been used by Hezbollah.
The Israeli military says it targeted military infrastructure for Hezbollah in those areas. It accuse the group of rebuilding its capabilities almost a year after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire went into effect that ended a monthslong war.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has been critical of Israel’s strikes and military presence on five hill-top points on Lebanese territory but has said he is open to negotiations with Israel to end the tensions.
Israel says its near-daily strikes have targeted Hezbollah officials and military infrastructure, while the Lebanese government that has backed disarming Hezbollah say the strikes have targeted civilians and infrastructure unrelated to the Iran-backed group.
The powerful group’s military capabilities were severely damaged in Israel’s intense air campaign over the tiny country in 2024, but Hezbollah have yet to disarm and its leader Sheikh Naim Kassim has said that the group will be ready to fight no matter how limited their capabilities might be.
Both sides have accused each other of violating the ceasefire, which nominally ended the latest Israel-Hezbollah war last November. The conflict started after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza.
Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel in support of Hamas and the Palestinians, prompting Israeli airstrikes and artillery shelling in return. The low-level exchanges escalated into full-scale war in September 2024.
