Israeli warplanes conducted bombing missions against Hezbollah positions throughout Lebanon, including targets in the eastern Bekaa Valley region, on Monday evening after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to escalate military operations against the Lebanese militant organization.
The prime minister’s pledge followed recent weeks of Hezbollah deploying fiber optic drones against Israeli military personnel in southern Lebanon and northern Israel – the same type of weaponry that has been extensively utilized during the conflict in Ukraine.
“We will hit them. It’s true that they are shooting drones at us, fiber optic drones. We have a special team working on that and we will solve that too,” Netanyahu said in a video posted on social media. “What this requires of us now is to increase the blows, to increase the intensity. We will smite them hip and thigh.”
Following Netanyahu’s social media statement, some civilians began evacuating Beirut’s southern neighborhoods where Hezbollah maintains a significant presence, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency. The same agency reported multiple bombing runs targeted the eastern community of Mashghara in the Bekaa area Monday evening.
Hezbollah announced it conducted eight separate operations during the day, including launching a drone strike against Israeli soldiers stationed in Misgav Am in northern Israel.
These daily exchanges of fire between both forces have continued even with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire that took effect on April 17.
A U.S. State Department official reported Monday that Hezbollah has disregarded multiple calls to cease attacking Israel, including a recent ultimatum. The official, who lacked authorization to speak publicly and requested anonymity, stated that Israel cannot be expected to passively endure assaults on its military personnel and citizens.
The official revealed that since the ceasefire began, Hezbollah has launched more than a thousand drones and over 700 rockets in an effort to disrupt ongoing diplomatic discussions between Lebanon and Israel, describing “the status quo is untenable.”
Lebanon and Israel initiated their first face-to-face negotiations in over thirty years last month through meetings conducted in Washington. Military representatives from both Lebanese and Israeli forces are scheduled to reconvene Friday at the Pentagon to review the ceasefire agreement. Both Israel and the United States are working toward Hezbollah’s disarmament.
The State Department official explained that the direct diplomatic engagement between Lebanon and Israel, along with the possibility of substantial U.S. assistance to Lebanon, poses a challenge to the Iran-supported Hezbollah and undermines its anti-Israel resistance messaging.
“A successful ceasefire led by the government of Lebanon would strip Hezbollah of their power and their narrative,” the official said.
Earlier Monday, an Israeli bombing attack on the southern community of Kfar Rumman resulted in four deaths and three injuries, the Lebanese NNA documented. Additional Israeli drone operations in southern areas – including an attack on a roadway near Kfar Rumman’s municipal center – caused three more fatalities.
Israeli military officials confirmed striking more than 70 Hezbollah infrastructure locations throughout Monday.
The current Israel-Hezbollah conflict started March 2, when Hezbollah launched rockets toward northern Israel, occurring two days following the commencement of U.S. and Israeli operations against Iran.
Lebanese Health Ministry data shows more than 3,000 people have died in Lebanon during the recent hostilities. Additionally, 22 Israeli soldiers and one defense contractor have been killed in or around southern Lebanon, while two civilians have died in northern Israel, according to Netanyahu’s office.
