Netanyahu orders expansion of Israeli occupation in southern Lebanon

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he has ordered the military to expand the occupation in southern Lebanon, vowing to continue attacks until Israel achieves its objectives, Anadolu reports.

Israel is “determined to fundamentally change the situation in the north,” Netanyahu said in a video statement released on the US social media platform X.

He said military operations in Lebanon would continue, adding that Israeli forces would act with force until their goals are met.

The Israeli army has pounded Lebanon with airstrikes and launched a ground offensive in southern Lebanon since a cross-border attack by Hezbollah on March 2.

The region has been on alert since the US and Israel launched an air offensive on Iran on Feb. 28, so far killing over 1,340 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, along with Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets, causing casualties and damage to infrastructure while disrupting global markets and aviation.

READ: Israel says its forces cross from Syria’s Golan Heights into southern Lebanon for ‘targeted operation’