The Israeli prime minister, Benjamín Netanyahu, has assured in a video disseminated on social media that Israeli forces continue their military operations against Hezbulá in southern Lebanon, while making it clear that Israel maintains the capacity to resume fighting with Iran if necessary.
“Our forces continue to attack Hezbollah,” Netanyahu has stated, who has placed the epicenter of the offensive in the town of Bint Jbeil, which he has described as a former stronghold of the Shiite group in the south of the country. “We are going to take it,” he added, in a message that reinforces the continuity of the Israeli military strategy in the area.
The leader has also ordered to expand the so-called "security zone" in southern Lebanon, in a context of intensification of bombings and growing diplomatic tension in the region.
A war that does not stop in parallel to the negotiation
Netanyahu has insisted that the Israeli approach combines military pressure with political negotiation. As he has explained, in the conversations with Líbano there are two central objectives: the disarmament of Hizbulá and the obtaining of a “sustainable peace based on strength”.
In parallel, the prime minister has linked the evolution of the conflict in Lebanon with the indirect negotiations with Iran, underscoring that the United States keeps Israel informed and that both countries share the same strategic objectives regarding the Iranian nuclear program.
"We want to see the enriched material removed from Iran and the elimination of its enrichment capabilities," he pointed out, in reference to uranium, before warning that the situation remains open and without a defined outcome.
“It is too soon to say how this will end. In anticipation that the fighting may resume, we are prepared for any scenario,” Netanyahu has stressed.
Lebanon under fire amidst diplomatic contacts
The statements of the prime minister arrive at a moment in which the conflict in Líbano continues leaving a high number of victims. According to data from the Centro de Operaciones de Emergencia del Ministerio de Sanidad libanés, the israelíes bombings have already caused 2,167 dead and 7,061 injured since the beginning of the offensive, last March 2. Among the victims are 172 minors, while more than 650 children have been injured.
Only in the last 24 hours, 43 people have died in different parts of the country, in attacks that have continued despite reports of diplomatic contacts between both sides. One of the most serious episodes has been recorded in the town of Mayfadoun, in the south of the country, where Israeli forces reportedly bombed on several occasions, including actions against emergency teams that were coming to rescue victims. At least three paramedics have died and another remains missing.
The Israeli Government is studying a possible ceasefire
Precisely, this Wednesday the Gabinete de Seguridad de Israel has met at 19:00 hours (Spanish peninsular time) to debate the possibility of a ceasefire in Líbano, at a time when international pressure to stop the escalation intensifies.
The meeting, which involves the most restricted core of the Netanyahu Government, takes place in a context of uncertainty about the evolution of the conflict and while indirect diplomatic contacts continue in different international scenarios.