Israel preparing for ‘extended war’ against Lebanon: Report 

The Israeli military is preparing for a prolonged war in Lebanon that could extend beyond the ongoing US‑Israeli aggression against Iran, the Financial Times reported.

“The Israelis are preparing international players for the prospect that the war with Hezbollah could drag on and last longer than the war with Iran,” the newspaper quoted sources as saying.

One of the sources said Israel had been considering renewing the war on Lebanon even before the Hezbollah resistance movement fired its first rocket barrage early on March 2.

Multiple reports from last year revealed that plans were already in place for an escalation against Lebanon.

The newspaper report also said the pace of Hezbollah’s rocket and drone attacks is increasing.

Tel Aviv has openly called for Israeli troops to illegally occupy additional areas in southern Lebanon as part of the ground invasion, which Hezbollah is fiercely confronting.

Israel’s Broadcasting Corporation (KAN) reported that Tel Aviv is considering expanding the so‑called “security belt” — a series of hills and strategic locations on the Lebanese side of the border currently occupied by Israeli troops in violation of the November 2024 ceasefire.

Israel used ‘white phosphorus’ in strikes on populated areas in Lebanon: Rights group

Images verified by Human Rights Watch (HRW) show Israel fired “white phosphorus” in populated areas of southern Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Israeli authorities are increasingly acknowledging that the Lebanese resistance group may be preparing for a sustained campaign along the northern front.

The Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post, citing the regime’s assessments, reported that Hezbollah’s operations are not a short‑term escalation but part of a longer confrontation aimed at exhausting Israeli forces and reshaping battlefield dynamics along the Lebanese border with the occupied territories.

The report comes as Iran has rejected ceasefire discussions with the United States and Israel, and as joint missile strikes by Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic against the occupying entity intensify.

Israel, which has been stunned by Hezbollah’s operational capabilities, recently admitted that two of its soldiers had been killed.

Early on Tuesday, Hezbollah said in a statement that its fighters had lured invading Israeli forces into a well‑prepared ambush on the southern outskirts of Khiam, directly hitting three tanks.

Hezbollah missiles damaged an Israeli satellite site near occupied al‑Quds on Monday.

Since earlier this month, the Lebanese resistance has announced several more operations and continues to confront invading Israeli forces in the south.

Hezbollah has targeted several Merkava tanks in recent days.

On 9 March, the Hebrew newspaper Maariv reported that the Israeli military is “not prepared” to fight a two‑front war against both Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic of Iran.

“It is not prepared to manage two fronts simultaneously with the power to drop thousands of munitions every day of war,” the newspaper’s military correspondent said.

Since Hezbollah opened a new front just over a week ago, Israeli has killed at least 500 people in Lebanon, most of them civilians.

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