Israel-Hezbollah fighting escalates as US-Iran peace talks drag on

Israel pounded southern Lebanon on Wednesday, the latest strikes in its escalating military campaign against Hezbollah that could complicate efforts by the United States and Iran to reach a peace deal. 

The new attacks were launched a day after Israeli strikes killed at least 31 people, including children, in Lebanon, according to the Lebanese health ministry. The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militia group, has intensified just as diplomatic efforts to secure an agreement between the United States and Iran appeared to be inching forward. 

In the southern Lebanese town of Baysarieh, New York Times journalists heard explosions as the sky filled with smoke and warplanes circled after a night of heavy bombardment.  Israel issued a flurry of evacuation warnings, including for the entire city of Nabatieh, one of the largest urban centres in the south. 

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said on Tuesday that the Israeli military was “deepening its operation” in Lebanon, adding to the uncertainty over whether its war with Hezbollah would be part of the potential overall US-Iran deal. 

While Iranian officials have previously told The Times that the deal would end fighting on all fronts, including Lebanon, Netanyahu has suggested that Israel would still be able to defend itself against threats from Hezbollah there, citing a call with President Donald Trump. 

On Tuesday, Netanyahu said that he had deployed a large number of forces to capture additional territory in the country. 

The United States and Iran also ratcheted up hostilities on Tuesday, after signalling for days that they were making progress toward a temporary agreement that would halt the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively blockaded. The United States attacked Iranian boats and launch sites early Tuesday in what it described as “self-defence strikes.” Two American officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss military matters, said Iran had deployed mine-laying boats in the strait and flown attack drones near US ships. 

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps responded the same day by vowing a “decisive reciprocal response” to any cease-fire violations and the supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, suggested that the country could renew strikes on US military installations in the Persian Gulf. Tehran had repeatedly targeted those bases after the United States and Israel started bombing Iran in late February, but on Wednesday, there was no sign that it had resumed attacks.