Israeli forces have made their deepest incursion into Lebanon amid negotiations to end the three-month-old war between US and Iran.
On Sunday, the Israeli military captured Lebanon’s Beaufort Castle, a 900-year-old
hilltop fortress in the country’s south.
Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had vowed to “increase the blows”. He noted that Beaufort is “a symbol of a heroic battle for our fighters” but also “a symbol of deep division between us.”
Will This Aggression Affect US-Iran Ceasefire Deal?
The Israel’s advance will be a challenge to the ongoing negotiations to extend the Iran war ceasefire as Tehran wants any deal to include end fighting in Lebanon.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported that Tehran’s negotiating team had halted the exchange of messages and documents with the US via intermediaries, citing continued Israeli military activity in Lebanon.
The agency said the decision came as diplomatic efforts to end the war in the Middle East remain stalled.
The report added that Iran would not resume talks unless what it called as the withdrawal of Israeli forces from occupied areas and an end to operations in Gaza and Lebanon were met.
The move comes shortly after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi warned that any escalation in Lebanon would be treated as a violation of the broader ceasefire framework involving the United States.
“The ceasefire between Iran and the US is unequivocally a ceasefire on all fronts, including in Lebanon. Its violation on one front is a violation of the ceasefire on all fronts. The US and Israel are responsible for the consequences of any violation,” Araqchi wrote on X.
According to AP, over 3,300 people, including dozens of children, have been killed in Lebanon since the fighting began March 2, two days after the Iran war started. About 1 million people have been displaced.
Lebanon’s Reaction To Israel
According to AP, hundreds of thousands of people have fled southern Lebanon as Israeli forces carried out airstrikes and ground troops pushed into the country.
Besides being in control of large areas in southern Lebanon, the Israeli forces have demolished homes and historical sites. Israel is trying to “uproot Lebanon’s memory and erase the people’s history,” Lebanon’s prime minister, Salam, said Saturday.
