Hezbollah is preparing for a prolonged fight in south Lebanon and is insisting on an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory before any ceasefire takes effect, to avoid a repeat of the last war’s outcome, Lebanese sources following the group’s talks with officials said.
Continued Israeli troop build-ups suggest the Israeli army is also bracing for a long battle.
Information in Lebanon on fighters targeted in airstrikes, reinforced by Israeli footage of operations in combat zones, points to a shift in Hezbollah’s military approach.
The group has reduced combat units to two or three fighters to limit attrition and granted field units authority to act independently, based on battlefield conditions.
Sources said Hezbollah is preparing for a long war and will not accept any political deal that does not guarantee an Israeli withdrawal before a ceasefire begins, to prevent Israel from using any pause to destroy more homes or entrench military positions inside Lebanon.
The group is telling officials its fighters will continue to resist Israeli incursions until a full withdrawal, however long that takes. Any political agreement, the sources said, would also ensure the return of prisoners, whose numbers have risen since the war began, and allow displaced residents to return to their homes.
Talks suspended
The leaks indicate Hezbollah has raised its conditions ahead of any potential agreement, although there are currently no negotiations or exchanged messages with Israel through any international mediator, the sources said.
Israel has also raised its demands, seeking political negotiations with the Lebanese state while fighting continues and while it holds Lebanese territory.
These demands are coupled with steps by the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah, secure northern Israel fully and eliminate any threat, diplomatic sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.
The stance mirrors Israeli statements. The Israeli military said, “If the Lebanese government does not disarm Hezbollah, we will do it.”
A UN official warned of “increasingly alarming rhetoric” from Israeli authorities and the military regarding southern Lebanon, adding that what is needed is full respect for Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Advance of 10 kilometers
Israeli forces have made what is seen as a strategic advance along Lebanon’s coast, pushing nearly 10 kilometers from the border southwest of Naqoura toward Bayyada, about 12 kilometers from the coastal city of Tyre.
Local sources said progress on this axis has been relatively smooth, as Hezbollah’s defenses are positioned farther east, along the route the Israeli army would take to reach Shama and Tayr Harfa and seize the surrounding high ground.
That would allow it to overlook the valleys of Zibqin and Majdal Zoun, an area it failed to enter in the last war despite controlling Shama.
Elsewhere, Israeli forces have advanced further in Qantara, nearing the edges of Wadi al-Hujair, a strategic valley that marked Israel’s last point of control before its withdrawal from south Lebanon in 2000. Reaching it would cut Hezbollah's supply lines from the valley and the Litani River toward the interior.
In response, Hezbollah said it carried out a series of attacks targeting Israeli tanks and troop concentrations, and released images showing armored vehicles hit in Deir Siryan and Taybeh with guided missiles and drones. The group said its fighters were engaging Israeli forces at point-blank range in some areas of incursion and inside village neighborhoods.
The number of operations on Thursday reached nearly 90, announced in separate statements, the highest since the war began on Oct. 8, 2024, signaling a sharp escalation.
Israel now fully controls 11 villages across the first, second and third lines along the border.
At the same time, Israeli airstrikes hit the Zahrani area, causing casualties in Sarafand and Saksakiyeh.
Strikes also targeted Bazaliyah in the Bekaa in eastern Lebanon, as well as dozens of villages in the districts of Tyre, Nabatieh, Bint Jbeil, Marjayoun and Jezzine, in addition to attacks on Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Warnings over the humanitarian situation
On the humanitarian front, Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR Representative in Lebanon, said about 150,000 people have been cut off after bridges over the Litani River were destroyed.
The situation remains deeply alarming, and there is a real risk of a humanitarian catastrophe, she said.
Marcoluigi Corsi, UNICEF Representative in Lebanon, said at a Friday press conference that displaced people in Lebanon are unable to find safe shelter even in the capital, Beirut, amid the Israeli offensive against Hezbollah.
