EU postpones plan to ban Russian oil amid Iran conflict, rising crude prices and Druzhba pipeline dispute

Hezbollah refuses ceasefire discussions as Israel intensifies strikes in Lebanon

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem declared that holding talks with Israel while attacks continue would be equal to “accepting defeat”, as the Iran-supported movement carried out fresh operations and Israel announced it was widening a so-called security buffer inside Lebanese territory.

Israel, which maintained control over southern Lebanon for nearly twenty years before withdrawing in 2000, has continued air raids on its northern neighbor and deployed ground forces to secure a zone stretching toward the Litani River, roughly 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the frontier.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the army had already established what he described as a real security zone and was in the process of enlarging it further, advancing deeper into Lebanon.

According to Netanyahu, the objective is to build a wider defensive area that could stop potential ground incursions into Israel and reduce the threat of missile strikes. The remarks were delivered in a video released by his office.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah released numerous statements reporting attacks against Israeli troops, adding that missiles were fired early Thursday toward military installations in central Israel, triggering air-raid alarms in several locations.

Israeli news outlets reported that six rockets aimed at central regions were successfully intercepted before impact.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged both parties to halt hostilities, warning Israel against repeating what he described as the “Gaza model” in southern Lebanon, a scenario that could lead to large-scale civilian displacement if carried out.

Hezbollah announced that its fighters conducted more than eighty operations on Wednesday, the highest number recorded in a single day during the ongoing conflict, and said Israeli positions in nine border communities were targeted.

The Israeli military confirmed that one soldier was seriously injured by rocket fire in southern Lebanon and another was wounded by a mortar explosion. Earlier reports also mentioned an officer sustaining minor injuries during clashes.

Rockets launched toward the Haifa region in northern Israel caused no casualties, according to officials.

Lebanon became directly involved in the regional conflict when Hezbollah began launching rockets into Israel on March 2, saying the action was retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

In an effort to stop the violence, Lebanon’s president has proposed rare direct negotiations with Israel, although Israeli authorities have so far rejected the suggestion.

Qassem insisted that his group would not accept talks under military pressure, stating that negotiations while attacks continue would be considered forced surrender.

Health workers among those killed

Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported Israeli airstrikes and artillery fire across several southern locations on Wednesday. The health ministry said at least eight people died in those attacks.

The agency also confirmed a strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut, an area known to be a Hezbollah stronghold.

Israel’s military said the strike targeted what it described as a command center after issuing a renewed evacuation notice for the area.

Witnesses reported streets covered with debris, broken concrete and twisted metal following the early-morning explosion, while upper floors of a residential building appeared heavily damaged.

The neighborhood has been hit repeatedly since the start of the conflict and most residents have already fled the area.

In southern Lebanon, Israeli forces said ground troops destroyed a weapons storage site and that the air force eliminated several militants during operations.

Hezbollah stated that its fighters struck Israeli units gathered near the border towns of Naqura and Qawzah and launched more than one hundred rockets at positions across the frontier on Wednesday.

Lebanon’s health ministry reported that forty-two medical workers are among more than one thousand people killed in the country during over three weeks of Israeli bombardment.

Officials in Lebanon say the fighting has forced more than one million people to leave their homes, creating one of the largest displacement crises in recent years.