JERUSALEM\/BEIRUT
\nIsraeli forces have advanced to positions north of Lebanon\u2019s Litani River, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on \u200cFriday, as Israel escalates attacks against Hezbollah militants after warning thousands more Lebanese to flee their villages.
\nThe Israeli advance came as the U.S. military hosted Israeli and Lebanese defence representatives in Washington on Friday to pursue a U.S.-brokered plan to forge peace between the two countries and disarm Iran-backed Hezbollah.
\nThe Washington talks also aim to reinforce an April 16 ceasefire that has failed to halt cross-border \u200bfighting, with Israeli warplanes pounding Lebanon\u2019s south and east and Hezbollah firing drones and rockets into Israel.
\nThe military said this week it had expanded \u200bground operations beyond a security zone its troops have occupied since April 16. During a visit to the Israel-Lebanon border on \u2060Friday, Netanyahu said troops had pushed even further, past the Litani River that cuts east-west around 30 km (19 miles) into southern Lebanon.
\n\u201cOur forces have crossed the Litani \u200band advanced to controlling positions,\u201d Netanyahu said in remarks to military personnel, according to excerpts released by his office.
\n\u201cWe are operating in Beirut, in the Bekaa (Valley), across \u200bthe entire width of the front, and are dealing Hezbollah a crushing blow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lebanese security sources say Israeli troops crossed Litani then retreated
\nThe Israeli conflict in Lebanon has been the most deadly spillover of the Iran war, with more than 1.2 million Lebanese displaced by Israeli strikes and evacuation orders since March 2, when Hezbollah fired at Israel in support of ally Tehran.
\nSince then, Israeli \u200bstrikes have pummeled Lebanon\u2019s south, east and its capital Beirut, killing more than 3,200 people, according to Lebanon\u2019s health ministry. Israel says 23 of its soldiers \u200band four civilians have been killed over the same period.
\nEarly in the fighting, Israel ordered people south of the Litani River to flee. On Thursday, the military ordered people south of \u200cthe Zahrani \u2060River — which lies around 10 km north of the Litani — to flee as well, declaring the area a combat zone.
\nCommenting on advances by Israeli ground forces, Lebanese security sources said Israeli troops had crossed the Litani near the village of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah on Thursday but retreated to the southern bank of the river later in the day.
\nGround forces crossed back over the Litani again on Friday, the sources said, saying it wasn\u2019t a major advance and that it took place at an eastern \u200bpoint on the Litani that sits close \u200bto the Israeli border.
\nSpeaking with troops \u2060in Israel\u2019s northern command on Friday, Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir said troops would continue pursuing what he described as Hezbollah \u201claunch squads\u201d and their operators and commanders at every level.
\n\u201cWherever we identify a threat, we will strike it,\u201d he said, according to \u200bremarks released by the military.<\/p>\n
Israel, Lebanon hold security talks at pentagon
\nIn Washington, Israeli and Lebanese military officials were meeting \u200bat the Pentagon to \u2060discuss implementation of the ceasefire, which the two sides agreed on May 15 to extend by 45 days. The talks were expected to have begun at 8 a.m. (1200 GMT).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
JERUSALEM\/BEIRUT Israeli forces have advanced to positions north of Lebanon\u2019s Litani River, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on \u200cFriday, as Israel escalates attacks against Hezbollah militants after warning thousands more Lebanese to flee their villages. The Israeli advance came as the U.S. military hosted Israeli and Lebanese defence representatives in Washington on Friday to pursue […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":548745,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-548733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n