Israel assault on Hezbollah will continue even if Iran war ends: report

Israel is preparing for an extended offensive against Hezbollah that is likely to continue even after the war on Iran ends, according to reports.

Despite previously saying the campaign in Iran could last up to four or five weeks, US President Donald Trump on Monday signalled that the war was ahead of schedule and "very complete, pretty much", while Israeli officials have estimated the conflict could last "weeks".

Sources have told The Financial Times that the war with Hezbollah could extend after a US-Israeli ceasefire with Iran is agreed, although such a truce still appears to be a distant prospect, heaping further misery on Lebanon, which has sustained years of Israeli attacks.

Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel at dawn on Monday last week following the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes just days before. A source told the FT that Israel had considered renewing its offensive against the Lebanese group even before it launched its surprise assault on Iran with the US on 28 February.

The new round of fighting came after a 15-month truce between the two sides after a US-brokered ceasefire at the end of 2024, which was supposed to end the war.

Israel had kept up its strikes to keep Hezbollah weakened and occupied several border locations inside southern Lebanon, but also killing scores of civilians.

The Lebanese government has meanwhile pushed to disarm the group, warning Hezbollah against pursuing a new confrontation with Israel, given the huge toll fighting between the two sides has wrought on the country.

Hezbollah has refused to fully disarm and now vowed to continue the fight against Israel despite the obvious power imbalance.

The Iran-backed group was lambasted Monday by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, who accused Hezbollah of working towards the "collapse" of the state by dragging the country into yet another war.

Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam have called for direct negotiations with Israel to end the war and have reportedly asked Trump to mediate these talks, but reports on Monday suggested that the US and Israel were uninterested in a truce at the moment.

Israel’s Channel 12 claimed that Hezbollah had requested negotiations to end the war, but The New Arab could not independently verify this.

Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Dannon, said Tuesday he was unaware of any Israeli decision to negotiate with Beirut, adding that the Lebanese government was still not able to disarm Hezbollah.

'We will strike you if Hezbollah is there'

Israeli broadcaster Kan has said Israel was considering expanding the security belt and buffer zone inside southern Lebanon. Thousands of Israeli troops have been deployed at the border.

While it is not yet clear when a possible full-scale invasion could happen, Israeli forces have carried out incursions into Lebanese border towns, clashing with Hezbollah fighters.

Since the war resumed, the Israeli military has repeatedly warned all residents living south of the Litani River to evacuate the entire region, the latest warning being issued on Tuesday morning, something viewed as an act of ethnic cleansing

Nearly 700,000 in total have so far been displaced in Lebanon from Shia-majority regions including the south, Beirut’s southern suburbs, and some eastern areas in the Bekaa - areas where Hezbollah holds sway.

Lebanon’s health ministry put the death toll on Monday at 486, including more than 80 children, since last Monday when fighting broke out.

On Tuesday, residents of the Christian border village of Alma al-Shaab, accompanied by UN peacekeepers, were advised by a ceasefire monitoring committee established in 2024 to leave their town amid the escalation.

Residents spoke to local media as they prepared to leave, saying they were unsure if they would ever be able to return, while condemning all parties involved in the war.

Residents of several Christian villages straddling the border have refused to leave their homes, calling on the Lebanese army to protect them. A priest was killed in the village of Qlayaa on Monday by Israeli shelling.

A municipality official in Rmaysh, one of these Christian border villages, reportedly received a call from the Israeli army warning him that his town could be targeted if it is harbouring Hezbollah fighters.

In recent developments on the ground, the Israeli military Tuesday struck "Hezbollah infrastructure" in the southern coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon, warning residents to move away from targeted buildings.

The military also issued evacuation warnings for Beirut's southern suburbs again, another region which has been largely emptied of its residents. The area - known as Dahiyeh - has come under continued strikes since Monday.

Israel said it targeted over 30 sites linked to Al-Qard al-Hassan, a Hezbollah-linked financial institution blacklisted by Beirut and Washington, over the past week.

Israel accuses the association of funding Hezbollah activities, including the purchase of weapons and payments to fighters. Rights groups have said targeting Al-Qard al-Hassan could be considered a war crime as it was a civilian organisation.