Israel steps up Lebanon strikes to ‘crush’ Hezbollah

Netanyahu pledges to intensify Israeli firepower, citing drone threats since April 17 ceasefire

The Israeli army intensified strikes in southern Lebanon on Monday, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the military to escalate its offensive in an effort to “crush” Hezbollah.

The air strikes come as the United States and Iran seek to finalise the terms of an agreement to end the Middle East conflict, which could include the Lebanon front, where Israel and Hezbollah have waged war since March 2.

Despite a ceasefire that came into effect on April 17, Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have continued to exchange fire on a near-daily basis.

“I have ordered an even greater acceleration of our operations,” Netanyahu said in a video statement posted on his Telegram channel.

“It is true that they are attacking us with drones, including fibre-optic drones, but we have teams working on countermeasures and we will solve this issue … We will intensify our blows, increase our firepower, and we will crush them.”

Following the call for escalation, an Agence France-Presse correspondent saw residents fleeing the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold.