Israel pushes deeper into Lebanon as Iran envoy refuses to go: What to know
Israeli forces have reportedly reached the banks of the Litani River as part of a plan to set up a buffer zone between Israel and Lebanon.
BEIRUT — Israeli forces continued to advance deeper inside Lebanese territory on Monday, reportedly reaching the banks of the Litani River, some 30 kilometers (18 miles) north of the border with Israel, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeks an expanded buffer zone in southern Lebanon.
Netanyahu said on Sunday that he ordered his military to expand its operations in southern Lebanon as the Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon rages on for a fifth week.
“I have now instructed to further expand the existing security zone in order to finally thwart the threat of invasion and to push the anti-tank missile fire away from our border,” he said in a video statement.
What happened: The Israeli military began what it called a limited ground invasion inside Lebanon in mid-March, only a few days after launching a large-scale offensive across Lebanon in response to Hezbollah’s firing of rockets toward northern Israel on March 2 in support of Iran.
