Israeli Army Continues Lebanon Offensive Despite Trilateral Ceasefire Declaration
The Israeli army said Thursday it will continue its ongoing offensive in southern Lebanon despite the trilateral ceasefire declaration issued in Washington on Wednesday. Israeli forces continue to operate at the Beaufort Castle / Beaufort Ridge / Wadi al-Saluki line beyond the Litani River, the deepest Israeli position inside Lebanon in 26 years. Israel’s defence minister said the deal grants the military the freedom to strike Beirut if conditions warrant. Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem has rejected the truce; French and Saudi envoys are travelling to Beirut over the weekend.
The Israeli defence minister’s “freedom to strike Beirut” framing is the first explicit Israeli walk-back from the cessation terms President Donald Trump announced Tuesday and the conditional ceasefire signed Wednesday. The Israel-Lebanon deal was made through US-brokered talks in Washington that did not include Hezbollah, a structural flaw at the heart of the ceasefire. The Lebanese-government understanding is that both sides must observe a complete cessation; the Israeli reading is that operational latitude is preserved. The weekend French-Saudi envoy mission to Beirut now has a sharper task: getting Qassem to convert the “reject and demand” posture into a “reject but allow indirect compliance” posture.