Israel said it blew up two kilometers of tunnels operated by the Lebanese group Hezbollah as part of an offensive that has expanded despite a months-old ceasefire. Israeli authorities have refused to withdraw from southern Lebanon, citing Hezbollah’s refusal to give up arms as part of the US-brokered truce; Israel’s military has since 2023 taken swathes of Lebanese territory to operate what it says is a buffer zone but its attacks have killed nearly 9,000 people and hundreds of thousands remain displaced.
The latest operation comes just weeks before Israeli parliamentary elections which most polls suggest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s party is unlikely to win — though the country’s fragmented political scene means he could yet form another coalition government.