ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH FRONT ESCALATES DESPITE CEASEFIRE

Israeli forces clashed with Hezbollah along Lebanon’s Litani River on Tuesday after overnight Israeli strikes across southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley, according to the Associated Press. The fighting came despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire announced in April and ahead of planned peace talks in Washington involving Israeli and Lebanese officials.

Israel said it struck Hezbollah infrastructure, including storage sites, command centers, and observation points used to attack Israeli forces and communities in northern Israel. AP reported that one strike in Mashghara killed 12 people, including family members, while Israel also deployed an additional battalion and issued evacuation warnings in Nabatieh.

Hezbollah responded with rocket, artillery, and drone attacks on Israeli forces. AP reported that Hezbollah has claimed recent success using fiber-optic drones, a form of drone guidance that can be more resistant to some electronic jamming. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would intensify its attacks on Hezbollah, while Israeli officials accused the group of undermining the ceasefire.

The distinction between Hezbollah and the Lebanese state is essential. Hezbollah is an Iran-backed armed group and political movement operating in Lebanon; it is not the Lebanese government. Lebanon’s official government and the Lebanese Armed Forces are separate state institutions. Beirut has sought Israeli troop withdrawal and ceasefire enforcement through diplomacy, while Hezbollah has said it will continue fighting until Israeli strikes end.

That split complicates any diplomatic path. Planned U.S.-mediated talks between Israeli and Lebanese officials are meant to address the fragile ceasefire and Hezbollah disarmament, according to AP. But direct Lebanon-Israel talks are also politically sensitive inside Lebanon because Hezbollah’s military role and political influence challenge the state’s ability to speak with one clear security position.

The humanitarian cost continues to rise. AP reported that more than 1 million Lebanese have been displaced and more than 3,100 people killed since the conflict began on March 2. On the Israeli side, AP reported that 23 soldiers, a contractor, and two civilians have died, most from drone strikes.

The escalation also intersects with wider U.S.-Iran diplomacy. Iran has continued to express support for Hezbollah while U.S. officials work on a possible agreement with Tehran involving Hormuz, sanctions, and nuclear talks. That means the Lebanon front is not only a local ceasefire problem; it is one of the places where the wider regional conflict can either narrow or reignite.

For now, the ceasefire remains fragile in name and heavily contested in practice. Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah military infrastructure. Hezbollah says it is resisting Israeli attacks and occupation. Lebanon’s government is trying to preserve state diplomacy while managing a conflict driven by an armed group that operates outside full state control. That is the core tension shaping the next phase.

Fact-check date: 26 May 2026
Sources: Associated Press, Reuters, The Guardian

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