Israel’s military announced Friday that its forces launched strikes on targets across southern Lebanon overnight, while Hezbollah described the fighting in the region as intense.
Lebanon’s government-run National News Agency reported that at least 16 people lost their lives in the Israeli airstrikes.
The military action unfolded as scheduled negotiations in Switzerland between the United States and Iran — aimed at reaching a lasting end to the Iran war — were put on hold.
A central point of contention in those talks has been Israel’s continued occupation of southern Lebanon and its ongoing military pressure against Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Shiite militia.
Israel has maintained that it must keep its hold on the territory and retain the ability to freely engage Hezbollah, citing the group’s repeated attacks launched into northern Israel.
The postponement followed a report from Al-Mayadeen, a pan-Arab satellite network with political ties to Hezbollah, that Iran had chosen to delay dispatching its delegation to Switzerland in response to Israel’s continued military operations in Lebanon.
