Israel Pushes Across the Litani Into South Lebanon as Lebanon Warns of Wider War

Israel expanded its ground operation in southern Lebanon, crossing the Litani River and moving to control territory to its north. An Israeli military source said the forces "captured the area, cleared it and created crossings over the river through a significant engineering effort," Ynet reported. The advance follows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statement that his forces had pushed deeper into Lebanon.

Lebanon's prime minister, Nawaf Salam, denounced the campaign as a "dangerous" escalation and called for "a swift and real ceasefire," according to The Hindu. Iranian state media, presenting the other side, reported "fierce clashes" between what it called resistance fighters and Israeli soldiers near the town of Debin in the south, according to IRNA.

The fighting reached across the border. Hezbollah fired rockets at Safed and Nahariya, and Israel's Home Front Command tightened instructions for northern residents, ordering schools in frontline communities to stay closed and moving a hospital in Nahariya underground, according to Globes. Both Israeli and Lebanese accounts note that the United States could halt the fighting but has not done so.

The accounts agree on the core facts even as they differ in framing. Israel has advanced beyond the Litani, Hezbollah has resumed rocket fire into Israeli towns, and Beirut is pressing for an internationally backed halt to the fighting.