Hezbollah Rockets and Drones at Northern Israel; Israel Bombards Sour and Nabatieh as IDF Expands South Lebanon Op
Hezbollah fired multiple rockets and drones at northern Israel on Saturday afternoon as the Israeli military said it was preparing for a likely expansion of operations in southern Lebanon. Israel bombarded the cities of Sour and Nabatieh; Lebanese Prime Minister Salam defended the Pentagon negotiations as the “least costly path” for Lebanon. The IDF Arabic spokesperson Colonel Avichay Adraee issued evacuation warnings for several southern Lebanese towns. Hezbollah said it repelled Israeli troops advancing on Ghandoureh near the strategic Wadi Houjeir valley; clashes have been reported near Beaufort Castle.
The Hezbollah rocket-and-drone barrage at northern Israel is the first multi-system Hezbollah response since the Pentagon Israel-Lebanon talks on Friday. The Israeli ground push toward Wadi Houjeir / Beaufort Castle represents an effort to consolidate strategic depth before any agreement freezes positions. Lebanese PM Salam’s “least costly path” framing is the Lebanese-government attempt to defend the talks against domestic critics who say negotiating under fire legitimises further Israeli pressure. The IDF claims to have killed 2,500 Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon since the start of the year. Friday’s Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon killed five (four in Abbasiyeh near Tyre, one in Deir Qanoun). Resolution of the Lebanon coverage question is one of the binding sticking points in the Iran framework architecture.