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Israel Declares Combat Zone, Advances South Lebanon Amid 3,300 Deaths

5/31/2026

35 4 Full Breakdown

Center

Israel Declares Combat Zone

Israeli troops crossed Litani River, using it as a boundary while Lebanon stays under Israeli control despite the April 17 ceasefire.
Israel declared south of Lebanon’s Zahrani River a combat zone and ordered residents of Tyre, Nabatieh and villages to evacuate.
Lebanese health ministry says the war has killed over 3,300 people since March 2.
Nawaf Salam accused Israel of a scorched-earth policy, collective punishment and urged a ceasefire.

Left

Israel Airstrikes

Israeli airstrikes struck the 900-year-old Beaufort Castle, a UNESCO-listed medieval fortress in southern Lebanon.
The area south of the Zahrani River was declared a combat zone, prompting Israeli forces to order thousands to evacuate.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned Israel’s tactics, called it collective punishment, and demanded a ceasefire.
The International Committee of the Red Cross warned displacements and bombings are deepening a crisis.

History

Historical Context

Israel’s 1978 Operation Litani pushed PLO fighters north of the Litani River and displaced up to 250,000 Lebanese and Palestinian civilians, prompting UN Security Council Resolutions 425/426 and the creation of UNIFIL. Six years later, on 6 June 1982, the IDF launched Operation Peace for Galilee, crossing the same river, besieging Beirut and sparking a protracted conflict whose civilian-hardship legacy shapes today’s renewed Litani incursions.

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Israel Declares Combat Zone

Israeli troops crossed Litani River, using it as a boundary while Lebanon stays under Israeli control despite the April 17 ceasefire.
Israel declared south of Lebanon’s Zahrani River a combat zone and ordered residents of Tyre, Nabatieh and villages to evacuate.
Lebanese health ministry says the war has killed over 3,300 people since March 2.
Nawaf Salam accused Israel of a scorched-earth policy, collective punishment and urged a ceasefire.

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