Israel and Hezbollah clash along a strategic Lebanese river after
overnight strikes
[May 27, 2026]
By KAREEM CHEHAYEB
BEIRUT (AP) — Israel's military clashed with the Iran-backed militant
Hezbollah group Tuesday along a strategic river in southern Lebanon as
Israeli troops pushed farther north, days ahead of talks in Washington
between Lebanese and Israeli delegations.
A U.S.-brokered ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict appeared more
nominal by the day, complicating efforts at a broader peace in the Iran
war as Tehran wants an agreement to include an end to the fighting in
Lebanon.
The Litani River has been a de facto boundary in Lebanon, with large
areas to the south under Israeli military control despite the ceasefire
that's been in place for over a month.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said after meeting with his
defense minister and senior military officials that Israel will expand
its operations in Lebanon.
“The (Israeli Defense Forces) are operating with large forces on the
ground and seizing strategic areas,” he said, adding that Israel is
trying to fortify an area of southern Lebanon under its control, which
it says is necessary to protect residents in its northern border towns
from Hezbollah rocket and drone attacks.
Israeli strike kills 12
Meanwhile, an Israeli security official said the military had called up
an additional battalion to Lebanon, speaking on condition of anonymity
in line with regulations.
Israel's military said it struck more than 100 Hezbollah sites across
southern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley area overnight, adding
that it targeted storage facilities, command centers and observation
points used to attack Israeli troops and residents in northern Israel.
One strike hit the eastern village of Mashghara, killing 12 people
including several members of the same family, Lebanon’s state-run
National News Agency said.
Israel in recent days has intensified strikes in the city and province
of Nabatiyeh, just north of the river. On Tuesday it warned city
residents to leave.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, said it launched several rocket, artillery and
exploding drone attacks on Israeli troops and vehicles mobilizing along
the river toward the Nabatiyeh villages of Yohmor al-Shaqif and Zawtar
al-Sharqieh. Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV said the militant group repelled
attacks along the river banks.
Elsewhere in eastern Lebanon, Israel struck an area near the Qaraoun
Dam, the country's largest along the Litani River. The Litani River
Authority said there was no direct damage to the dam.
Beirut, the Lebanese capital, has been spared from strikes since the
start of the ceasefire, but Israel's latest moves have caused fear.
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A man walks between destroyed buildings that were hit in Israeli
airstrikes in Burj al-Shemali village near the southern port city of
Tyre, Lebanon, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
“By just saying a few words on TV, (Netanyahu) causes everyone to
panic and flee their homes,” said Tony Aboud in Beirut’s bustling
Hamra district. “I don’t know what’s going to happen and how long we
can live like this.”
Lebanon hopes for an agreement that will see Israeli withdrawal
The Lebanese government, which came to power on a platform of reform
and disarming Hezbollah and other armed groups, hopes that the
direct talks with Israel — which Hezbollah opposes — will lead to a
permanent ceasefire and withdrawal of Israeli troops.
Israel says it will not withdraw until Hezbollah no longer poses a
threat to residents of its northern towns. Hezbollah has vowed to
fight until Israel stops its daily airstrikes and withdraws its
troops from Lebanon.
In recent weeks, Hezbollah has boasted that it is using new
fiber-optic drones that Israeli troops have struggled to intercept,
hitting both Israeli forces and northern Israeli villages.
Israel has told people there not to gather in large numbers.
“What this requires of us now is to increase the blows, to increase
the intensity. We will smite them hip and thigh,” Netanyahu said
Monday.
Over 1 million people in Lebanon have been displaced in the war,
sparked when Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel on March 2
in solidarity with Iran, two days after the Iran war began.
At least 3,213 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since the
start of the war, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry, with
over 9,700 wounded.
According to Netanyahu’s office, 23 Israeli soldiers and a defense
contractor have been killed in or near southern Lebanon, and two
civilians have been killed in northern Israel, the vast majority by
drones.
___
Associated Press writers Sam Mednick and Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv,
Israel; Koral Saaed in Herzliya, Israel, and senior video producer
Malak Harb in Beirut contributed to this report.
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