Israel escalates attacks on Lebanon: bombs Beirut again and intensifies siege in the south
The Israeli army advances almost to Nabatieh and everything suggests that it intends to expand the occupied Lebanese territory
BeirutThe fragile truce in Lebanon has once again crumbled, thread by thread, under an escalation that is no longer confined to the southern border, but has reached the capital again and projects the conflict into a broader dimension. In the southern suburbs of Beirut, Thursday's Israeli attack marked a new turning point. The target was a commander of Hezbollah's missile unit, linked to the structure responsible for the launches against northern Israel. The bombing, described by the Israeli army as "selective," has brought the war back to the heart of the capital's periphery after weeks of relative containment.
The images of the affected building, the rescue teams, and the confusion after the explosion reflect the fragility of the scenario, in which . Hours before the Israeli attack in the southern neighborhood of Choueifat, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich had warned of the destruction of "100 buildings in the suburbs of Beirut for every drone that injures Israeli soldiers," following the death of an Israeli soldier on the northern front.that this Wednesday Israel declared as a "combat zone"
At the same time, Israel has renewed the forced evacuation orders for the city of Tyre and its surroundings, including areas where thousands of displaced people are concentrated. This port city of enormous historical value and considered one of the oldest inhabited enclaves in the Mediterranean has once again become the center of attacks. The Lebanese Minister of Culture, Ghassan Salamé, has warned about the damage caused to archaeological sites and historic neighborhoods in the south of the country, and has called for urgent intervention to protect historical heritage from new bombings.
More Lebanese territory under Israeli pressure
The population of all areas located south of the Zahrani River has been urged to move north, in a progressive expansion of Israeli ground operations up to more than thirty kilometers deep, at the gates of Nabatieh and the surrounding hills. The objective seems to be to expand the so-called "yellow line", a security strip that would approximately equate to 15% of Lebanese territory and which, if consolidated, would de facto modify the map of control in the south of the country. de facto the map of control in the south of the country.
The attacks have affected strategic roads, homes, and rural areas where, according to the Israeli army, Hezbollah infrastructure was operating. However, the destruction has also extended to densely populated residential areas. The human toll continues to worsen. Dozens of dead and injured are accumulating in a sequence of successive attacks, including bombings against vehicles in transit and inhabited areas. Among the victims is a soldier of the Lebanese army, killed while on duty on a road in the south of the country.
The Israeli army has claimed to have hit more than a hundred targets linked to Hezbollah in different regions of the country. The figure reflects the breadth of the air campaign, which is extending from the south to the Bekaa Valley, passing through areas where attacks have overlapped with evacuations and displacements of the civilian population. In cities like Tyre or Nabatieh, repeatedly hit in recent days, daily life is unfolding under constant pressure.
Diplomatic movements from the Pentagon
The regional dimension of the crisis has added a new layer of instability. From Tehran, the Revolutionary Guard has warned of a "firm response" to any new American attack, in a context where fronts are intertwined between Lebanon, Israel, Iran, and the American military presence in the region.
In this high-tension scenario, diplomacy is trying to open a crack of containment. This Friday, a meeting between the Lebanese, Israeli, and American delegations will be held at the Pentagon, focusing on security on the southern border. The meeting comes at a time when communication channels have been overwhelmed by the speed of the escalation and when any progress appears conditioned by immediate developments on the ground.
The day thus leaves a sensation of constant acceleration, in which each attack redefines the next and in which the possibility of de-escalation seems increasingly distant, trapped between military logic and political pressure from all parties involved.