As part of any diplomatic settlement with Hezbollah, Israel required the group to withdraw its forces north of the Litani River in Lebanon, according to a United Nations Security Council resolution that ended the 2006 war between the two sides. The resolution stipulated that only United Nations forces and the Lebanese army would be allowed in the area, but both sides have accused the other of violating it.
Analysts say Hezbollah is unlikely to withdraw its forces from the border. French mediators instead proposed a smaller security zone that would extend about six miles beyond Lebanon’s border with Israel and an increase in the number of Lebanese troops stationed in the border area.
With no agreement to halt the attacks, both sides opted for a limited escalation, with Hezbollah firing hundreds of rockets and Israel striking deeper into Lebanese territory. Analysts and officials say that while neither Israel nor Hezbollah appear to want a full-scale war, a miscalculation could drag both sides into one.
On Tuesday, Israeli forces killed a senior Hezbollah commander in an attack in southern Lebanon, prompting Hezbollah to respond by firing some of its heaviest rockets during the current conflict in Israel.
On Friday, Hezbollah fired 70 more rockets, setting off sirens across northern Israel, but causing little reported damage, according to the Israeli military, which said it responded with artillery fire.
The rockets were in response to an overnight Israeli strike that targeted a three-story building in southern Lebanon, killing two people, a Lebanese security official said. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter, said there was no indication that Hezbollah commanders were killed in the attack. The Israeli military declined to comment on the attack.
On Thursday, Hezbollah attacks wounded four people in Israel, including two soldiers. Rockets, Israeli interceptors and shrapnel have also sparked wildfires that have burned more than 11,000 hectares in Israel in the past two weeks, according to Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority.
