Israel intensifies strikes in Lebanon despite Washington's promises of de-escalation
via SeneNews4 min read
Israel continued its strikes on southern Lebanon on Tuesday, even as Washington sponsored new talks between Lebanese and Israeli diplomats. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that an agreement could be reached "tomorrow" if not for the pro-Iranian Hezbollah, which opposes the negotiations. Delegations from Israel and Lebanon, which lack diplomatic relations, met at the State Department, though no statements were made by participants. This follows conflicting statements from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who initially committed to not sending troops to Beirut and a Hezbollah ceasefire, but later reaffirmed Israel would "strike terrorist targets in Beirut" if Hezbollah continued attacks. His Defense Minister, Israel Katz, claimed the US had "validated the principle." The Israeli army struck about twenty localities on Tuesday, while Hezbollah claimed several attacks against Israeli soldiers. Netanyahu also stated his army would "continue to operate as planned in southern Lebanon" to "crush" Hezbollah. Marco Rubio reiterated that "without Iran, there would be no Hezbollah," emphasizing the US desire to separate Israeli-Lebanese negotiations from those with Iran. Donald Trump maintained that discussions with Iran to end the war, which began on February 28, were ongoing "without interruption." The conflict has resulted in 3,468 deaths in Lebanon, including 35 since Monday, and over a million displaced people. On the Israeli side, 26 soldiers and one civilian cont
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This summary was AI-generated from a story originally published by SeneNews.
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