Lead:
Lebanon finds itself at a critical juncture as Israeli military operations in the south intensify, diplomatic negotiations between Lebanese, American, and Israeli parties continue, and the humanitarian toll deepens. With 30 Israeli soldiers confirmed killed and 1,291 wounded since fighting resumed in early March, and Lebanese civilian casualties exceeding 3,600 dead and 11,000 injured, the pressure on all parties to reach a ceasefire agreement has reached a new urgency.
Details:
President Joseph Aoun held a telephone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron, during which both leaders reviewed regional developments and the trajectory of ongoing Lebanese-American-Israeli negotiations aimed at ending the military escalation and restoring calm to Lebanese territory, according to An-Nahar. The call underscores France's continued role as a key diplomatic interlocutor in the Lebanon file, particularly as international partners seek to accelerate a resolution before hostilities cause further irreversible damage.
The Israeli military acknowledged significant losses since fighting resumed, with An-Nahar and Ad-Diyar both reporting the Israeli army's admission of 30 officers and soldiers killed and 1,291 wounded, including 48 casualties in southern Lebanon over the past five days alone. Israeli Chief of Staff simultaneously issued threats against Iran, declaring readiness for a "new and severe strike," while announcing the destruction of an underground facility in the Shaqif area of southern Lebanon, signaling no imminent halt to military operations on the Israeli side.
Hezbollah and allied factions have framed the Iranian missile response against Israel as a message of support for Lebanon, with Ad-Diyar reporting that Hezbollah described the strikes as an expression of "moral, political, and field commitment" from the Islamic Republic. The Islamic Action Front echoed this characterization. Meanwhile, Lebanese parliament member George Adwan stated firmly that decisions of war and peace belong exclusively to the Lebanese state, and that any party acting outside this framework operates outside the law — a pointed remark directed at non-state actors.
On the humanitarian front, Al-Akhbar reported that Israeli strikes have systematically destroyed schools across southern Lebanese villages and border areas, threatening the educational future of thousands of displaced students. In the north, An-Nahar noted that approximately 17,000 displaced persons are sheltering in the Akkar region, with 19 of 23 official displacement centers already at full capacity and relief supplies critically stretched. Caritas Lebanon announced humanitarian convoys to southern villages, conducted with the support of the Papal Nuncio.
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