Israel issues new expulsion orders as forces press deeper into Lebanon

Israel issues new expulsion orders as forces press deeper into Lebanon Submitted by MEE staff on Sat, 05/30/2026 - 12:15 Israeli troops advance beyond Litani River, while Hezbollah fires rockets at northern Israel A mourner weeps over the body of a victim killed in an Israeli strike ahead of a funeral in Sour, southern Lebanon, on 28 May 2026 (Kawnat Haju/AFP) Off Israel's military on Saturday issued three expulsion orders for residents of 13 villages in southern Lebanon, a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said troops had pushed deeper into the country. The advance comes as Lebanese and Israeli military delegations held security talks at the Pentagon in Washington on Friday, ahead of US-brokered negotiations due to begin early next week. The upcoming talks will be the fourth round since 14 April. Israel has continued heavy bombardment of southern and eastern Lebanon despite a ceasefire that has nominally been in place since 17 April. The military said this week that it had expanded ground operations beyond a security zone encompassing dozens of Lebanese villages already occupied by its troops. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Friday that Israeli forces had advanced beyond the Litani River, which runs around 30km north of the Lebanon-Israel border. "Our forces have crossed the Litani and advanced to controlling positions," he said. Lebanese news channel Al Mayadeen reported that Israel had refused a Lebanese demand to withdraw and insisted on the "dissolution of Hezbollah" during military-level talks at the Pentagon, citing an unnamed Lebanese official. Israeli attacks have killed at least 3,355 people since the start of the war on 2 March, according to Lebanon’s health ministry, an increase of 31 compared to Thursday, when Israel carried out its first air strike near Beirut in weeks. Israel's colonisation of south Lebanon is already under way Read More » More than 1 million people have been displaced by Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon, which has flattened entire towns, caused extensive damage to infrastructure and worsened the humanitarian situation. Meanwhile, Hezbollah has responded by targeting Israeli troops in southern Lebanon and launching cross-border rocket attacks. The group said on Saturday that it had fired rockets at the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona and launched a missile strike on the air traffic control unit at the Meron base, an Israeli Air Force surveillance and command facility about 8km from the Lebanese border. It later said its fighters ambushed Israeli soldiers near Ghandouriyeh in southern Lebanon, forcing them to withdraw, and fired rockets at a military base in northern Israel. Hezbollah said on Friday that it had targeted Israeli troops advancing near the medieval Beaufort fortress, known in Arabic as Qalaat al-Shaqif. The site was used as a military base by Israeli forces during their two-decade occupation of southern Lebanon, which ended in 2000. Israel's war on Lebanon News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0