Fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah has broken out in southern Lebanon despite US claims a partial ceasefire had been agreed. The confusion has been fueled by claims US President Donald Trump launched an expletive-riddled phone rant against his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu.
It reportedly happened after Iran suspended peace talks because Netanyahu announced Israel would renew an assault on the Lebanese capital Beirut. During the rant, Trump warned Netanyahu that further attacks on Lebanon would isolate Israel and scupper peace talks.
Israeli Strikes on Southern Lebanon
Israeli drone strikes on southern Lebanon on Tuesday killed eight people, including a father and his son and daughter, a day after Trump's ceasefire claim. Israel had threatened to strike Beirut's southern suburbs, causing panic in the Lebanese capital as thousands fled to safer areas. Hezbollah fired rockets at northern Israel in response.
Iran's chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said: "If Israel's aggression against Lebanon continues, Tehran will not only halt the path of negotiations but we will also be in direct confrontation with the enemy." Twenty rockets hit northern Israel overnight, and clashes have occurred between Israeli troops and Hezbollah ground forces in southern Lebanon.
Trump-Netanyahu Bust-Up
The escalation followed a claimed bust-up between Netanyahu and Trump over the Israeli leader's decision to step up attacks on Beirut targets. Tehran insists on Lebanon being included in any stoppage of the war and warned it would attack northern Israel if Beirut came under fresh strikes.
President Trump said on Monday that both sides had "agreed that all shooting will stop," after Iran warned Israeli military actions in Lebanon threatened the US-Iran ceasefire. Now the region is on edge as Netanyahu threatened the Beirut operation would go ahead if Hezbollah continued to attack Israeli citizens.
Houthi Threat Looms
Overnight, Hezbollah targeted Israeli tanks even though Iran warned it could walk out of all negotiations over Israel's military operations in Lebanon. Fresh fears have emerged that if peace talks break down and the Iran war resumes, Tehran could unleash its Houthi proxies in Yemen.
The Houthis could threaten the Bab al-Mandab Strait at the entrance of the Red Sea, which could become a new version of the Strait of Hormuz. The Bab el-Mandeb strait is a vital global chokepoint between Yemen and the Horn of Africa, connecting the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea via the Red Sea and Suez Canal. It facilitates 10–12% of global maritime trade and roughly 5% of the world's petroleum supply, making it essential for Asia-Europe commerce.
War Casualties
Lebanon was drawn into the war between the US, Israel, and Iran on 2 March, when Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel in retaliation for an Israeli strike that killed Iran's supreme leader. Israel responded with an air campaign across Lebanon and a ground invasion in the south, which has been escalating in recent weeks. At least 3,433 people have been killed in Lebanon since the start of the war, according to the country's health ministry. Its figures do not distinguish between combatants and civilians. Israel says 25 of its soldiers and four Israeli civilians have been killed over the same period on both sides of the border.
