Netanyahu says Israeli forces crossed Lebanon’s Litani River
He said the area would serve as “a vast buffer zone” designed to prevent anti-tank attacks and guard against the threat of an incursion.
Israel’s campaign in Lebanon has pushed beyond a key geographic line, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying Israeli troops have crossed the Litani River and moved deeper into the country.
During a visit to Division 36 on Israel’s northern frontier, Mr Netanyahu said Israeli forces were also active in Beirut and the Bekaa Valley as Israel widened its operations against Hezbollah across Lebanon.
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On 31 March, Mr Netanyahu said the zone under Israeli occupation in Lebanon would extend as far as the Litani River, roughly 30km north of Israel’s border.
He said the area would serve as “a vast buffer zone” designed to prevent anti-tank attacks and guard against the threat of an incursion.
Yet the wave of air strikes and evacuation orders that followed has forced residents to flee from places far beyond that river line.
Only around half of the towns and villages placed under evacuation orders since the ceasefire lie south of the Litani. The remainder are north of the river, with some located more than 20 km from the waterway.
UNICEF says 77 children have been killed or injured in Israeli attacks in Lebanon over the past week
Lebanon’s children are bearing a steep toll. The UN children’s agency said that, over the past week, an average of 11 children have been killed or injured every 24 hours as Israel expanded its strikes across the country despite the ceasefire.
Heavy Israeli strikes pounded towns and villages in southern Lebanon overnight on Wednesday and into yesterday, after Israel declared a new stretch of the region a combat zone.
Widespread destruction followed Israeli attacks on Beirut yesterday
Israel also hit a building in Beirut’s southern suburbs yesterday.
In the past seven days alone, 77 children have been killed or injured, UNICEF said, citing figures from Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health.
Since the ceasefire took effect on 16 April, the agency said 55 children have been killed and 212 wounded.
UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires urged all sides to fully honour the ceasefire.
“Under international humanitarian law, children and civilian infrastructure must be protected,” he said.
The ceasefire, announced by the US, was intended to stop the fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah that has raged since 2 March.
The World Health Organization also warned that the widening military campaign posed serious health risks for people in Lebanon.
Since the ceasefire began, 27 attacks on healthcare facilities in Lebanon have been recorded, leaving 25 people dead and 42 others injured, the WHO said.
It added that 16 hospitals and 13 primary healthcare centres have been damaged in the attacks.
