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Four Dead in Lebanon as Israel Says Action Needed on Hezbollah Arsenal

This picture taken from a position in Upper Galilee in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, shows smoke rising during Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon on April 27, 2026. (AFP)
This picture taken from a position in Upper Galilee in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, shows smoke rising during Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon on April 27, 2026. (AFP)
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Four Dead in Lebanon as Israel Says Action Needed on Hezbollah Arsenal

This picture taken from a position in Upper Galilee in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, shows smoke rising during Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon on April 27, 2026. (AFP)
This picture taken from a position in Upper Galilee in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, shows smoke rising during Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon on April 27, 2026. (AFP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hezbollah's rockets and drones were a key threat demanding military action, as Israel's army expanded strikes on Lebanon where authorities reported four dead on Monday despite a ceasefire. 

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said direct talks with Israel sought to end the Israel-Hezbollah war and that those who dragged Lebanon into it were the ones committing "treason" -- a jab at the Iran-backed group, which claimed several attacks on Israeli targets in south Lebanon on Monday. 

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem called direct talks between the two countries a "sin", while Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned the group's rejection of negotiations would bring catastrophic consequences for Lebanon. 

Israeli and Lebanese representatives met twice in Washington this month, the first such meetings in decades, for discussions that Hezbollah has categorically rejected. 

After the first talks, US President Donald Trump announced a 10-day ceasefire that began on April 17, and a three-week extension after the second round. 

Netanyahu said in a statement that "there are still two central threats from Hezbollah: the 122mm rockets and the drones. This demands a combination of operational and technological activity." 

Israel's army said it struck more than 20 Hezbollah "infrastructure sites" in eastern Lebanon's Bekaa Valley and the country's south on Monday, including weapons storage facilities and rocket launch sites. 

Under the ceasefire, Israel reserves the right to act against "planned, imminent or ongoing attacks". 

- 'Grave sin' - 

Lebanese state media reported Israeli airstrikes in multiple locations in south Lebanon, including around a dozen sites in the evening. 

The health ministry said Israeli strikes on the south killed four people on Monday, including a woman, and wounded 51 others. 

Israeli strikes have killed at least 40 people in Lebanon since the truce began, according to an AFP tally of health ministry figures. 

Hezbollah said its fighters launched several attacks on Israeli troops, including on an army bulldozer that it said was demolishing homes in the border town of Bint Jbeil. 

Aoun said in a statement that "my goal is to reach an end to the state of war with Israel, similar to the armistice agreement" of 1949, signed after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. 

"I assure you that I will not accept reaching a humiliating agreement," said Aoun. 

Earlier, Hezbollah's chief sharply criticized the government, branding direct negotiations with Israel a "grave sin". 

"We categorically reject direct negotiations with Israel, and those in power should know that their actions will not benefit Lebanon or themselves," Qassem said in a statement. 

He urged authorities to "back down from their grave sin that is putting Lebanon in a spiral of instability". 

The government "cannot continue while it is neglecting Lebanon's rights, giving up land, and confronting" those resisting Israel, he said. 

"We will not give up our weapons... and the Israeli enemy will not remain on a single inch of our occupied land." 

Israeli troops who invaded south Lebanon after the war erupted on March 2 are operating inside an Israeli-announced "yellow line" -- a ribbon of Lebanese territory around 10 kilometers (six miles) deep along the border, where Lebanese have been warned not to return. 

- 'Consensus' - 

Aoun said that "what we are doing is not treason. Rather, treason is committed by those who take their country to war to achieve foreign interests". 

Aoun has faced intense criticism from Hezbollah and its supporters. 

They say his push for direct talks with Israel lacks consensus among Lebanon's communities -- the latest point of contention after the government decided to disarm the group last year and outlawed its military activities in March. 

"Some want to hold us accountable over the decision to go to negotiations on the grounds that there is no national consensus" over the talks, Aoun said. 

"My question to them is: when you went to war, did you first obtain national consensus?" 

Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war by firing rockets towards Israel to avenge the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes. 

Katz said Qassem was "playing with fire, and the fire will burn Hezbollah and all of Lebanon". 

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Arab World

700 Square Kilometers Under Israeli Occupation in Lebanon: What Does the ‘Security Belt’ Mean?

700 Square Kilometers Under Israeli Occupation in Lebanon: What Does the ‘Security Belt’ Mean?
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700 Square Kilometers Under Israeli Occupation in Lebanon: What Does the ‘Security Belt’ Mean?

700 Square Kilometers Under Israeli Occupation in Lebanon: What Does the ‘Security Belt’ Mean?

Israel’s expanding operations in southern Lebanon are raising questions about how much territory its forces actually occupy, and how much they control through surveillance, firepower and the ability to launch attacks from forward positions.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has repeatedly cited an area of roughly 700 square kilometers. But developments on the ground paint a more complex picture: Israeli control varies from troops stationed at fixed positions to mobile incursions and firepower dominance over much wider areas.

Military assessments suggest the area is far from a uniform security belt stretching from the Mediterranean coast to Mount Hermon. Its depth varies sharply across sectors, shaped by terrain, commanding heights and routes of movement.

Israeli troops and military vehicles are stationed in some areas. Others have no permanent Israeli military presence but remain under aerial surveillance or within striking range, allowing forces to operate there without maintaining troops on the ground.

Single Front

Defense and security expert Riad Kahwaji told Asharq Al-Awsat that Israel views Lebanon and the Golan Heights as "a single front" stretching from Mount Hermon to the Mediterranean coast at Naqoura and Bayada, despite crossing two countries.

"From its perspective, Israel is establishing a security belt along its northern border," Kahwaji said, adding that the belt is "no longer confined to areas south of the Litani River but has extended north of it in some locations."

Geography helps explain why.

"The geographical scope has effectively expanded beyond the area south of the Litani, particularly from the direction of Metula, where the river is only about seven kilometers away, compared with roughly 30 kilometers between Naqoura and the Litani," he said.

That difference, Kahwaji explained, means the security belt can extend north of the Litani in some areas without maintaining the same depth across the entire border.

The river, therefore, is not a uniform dividing line between northern and southern operational zones. Distances vary, and geography dictates how far Israeli troops or firepower can reach.

Israeli bulldozers carve roads through the mountainous al-Shaqif region in southern Lebanon (AFP)

Firepower

Kahwaji drew a distinction between occupying territory and controlling it through surveillance and firepower.

He said Israel relies on about 20 military positions, each capable of accommodating a small force, while drones continuously monitor movements deeper inside the area.

"Each position could accommodate a company-sized force, while drones operate continuously farther behind these positions to monitor movements," he said.

"When drones detect movement, it is targeted by artillery or an airstrike. Alternatively, a patrol can be dispatched from one of these positions toward the location where the movement was detected within what is known as the yellow belt."

That, he said, is what control through firepower means.

"It does not require an extensive military presence throughout the entire belt. Instead, it relies on specific military positions, continuous surveillance through drones and firepower, and the ability to target any movement or dispatch a patrol."

The result is a military footprint that extends well beyond the positions troops physically occupy.

From elevated or fortified positions, forces can monitor surrounding roads and towns, strike targets or send patrols without establishing permanent bases in every location.

From the Coast to Beaufort Castle

The pattern is visible across southern Lebanon.

In the west, Israeli operations extend from Naqoura and the coastal sector into areas that have recently faced incursions, demolitions and repeated shelling, including Mansouri and its surroundings.

Farther east, central-sector towns such as Beit Yahoun, Hadatha, Haris and Aita al-Jabal have experienced varying degrees of Israeli military activity or attacks, though the level of troop presence differs.

The reach of operations extends farther inland toward Beaufort Castle and the Ali al-Taher heights.

There, elevated terrain offers commanding views over wider areas toward Nabatieh, Iqlim al-Tuffah and surrounding movement routes.

The result is a zone of control shaped less by a continuous border strip than by strategic elevations and the areas they overlook.

Could Israeli Operations Reach the Awali River?

Retired Brigadier General Fadi Daoud offered a broader assessment of where Israeli operations could extend, arguing that control of high ground may determine the limits of any advance.

"What is clear in southern Lebanon is that the expansion could reach the Awali River. Even if it does not, forces will remain positioned on the heights overlooking the river," Daoud told Asharq Al-Awsat.

He said such a deployment could also encompass Rihan and areas around Jezzine, particularly Kfarhouna.

"The western boundary will be the Awali River," he said, identifying geographical control, especially over commanding heights, as the key factor shaping military movements.

Holding elevated positions, he argued, would allow Israeli forces to dominate lower-lying areas with firepower without maintaining troops throughout them.

"Geographical control will enable Israel to control the western Bekaa from the right flank because it is already present on Mount Hermon. The western Bekaa has effectively become a pocket between Mount Hermon and Rihan," Daoud said.

"Israel will establish positions there to control the Bekaa."

Dense clouds of dust cover the hills of Arnoun and al-Shaqif surrounding Beaufort Castle, as seen from Marjayoun in southern Lebanon (AFP)

The Strategic Heights of Rihan and Iqlim al-Tuffah

Daoud said the potential advance could stretch from Mount Rihan toward the heights of Iqlim al-Tuffah, including Mount Safi.

"It will move from Mount Rihan to the heights of Iqlim al-Tuffah, including Mount Safi, where it will establish control over Hezbollah's stronghold in Iqlim al-Tuffah, as well as Sidon, eastern Sidon and the Awali River," he said.

For Daoud, terrain is the determining factor.

"Geography is fixed, and Israel will follow it," he said, stressing that forces positioned on high ground can control areas below through firepower without deploying throughout them.

He argued that Israeli control of Mount Hermon would leave the western Bekaa militarily exposed as far as Qaraoun.

"Its control of Mount Hermon makes the western Bekaa militarily vulnerable as far as Qaraoun," he said.

Mount Hermon, he explained, overlooks two major areas: the western Bekaa to the west and Daraa in Syria to the east.

Both, he said, "will form pockets" on either side of the mountain.

The two military assessments point to a central distinction in the debate over the 700-square-kilometer area: the territory Israel can monitor, strike or enter is not necessarily territory it physically occupies.

Commanding heights, observation posts, fields of fire and the ability to deploy patrols can extend military control far beyond fixed positions, even as the scale of Israel's actual troop presence varies from one sector to another.

Israeli Drone Strike, Demolitions Hit Southern Lebanon

Meanwhile, Israeli military operations continued across southern Lebanon on Friday.

An Israeli drone struck a roundabout in Kfar Tebnit, in the Nabatieh district, with preliminary reports indicating casualties.

At the same time, Israeli troops carried out two demolitions, one on the outskirts of Kfar Tebnit and another in Mansouri in the Tyre district.

Israeli forces also set fire to wooded areas in Qantara and swept Wadi al-Hujeir with machine-gun fire.

An Israeli drone dropped a stun grenade near Kfarshouba, while low-flying drones were reported over Beirut's southern suburbs, Tyre and surrounding areas.

Arab World

Khartoum Denies Army Role in ‘Abyei Massacre’

UN peacekeeping forces (UNISFA) attempting to extinguish fires in Al-Na'am market in the Abyei area (United Nations - Facebook)
UN peacekeeping forces (UNISFA) attempting to extinguish fires in Al-Na'am market in the Abyei area (United Nations - Facebook)
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Khartoum Denies Army Role in ‘Abyei Massacre’

UN peacekeeping forces (UNISFA) attempting to extinguish fires in Al-Na'am market in the Abyei area (United Nations - Facebook)
UN peacekeeping forces (UNISFA) attempting to extinguish fires in Al-Na'am market in the Abyei area (United Nations - Facebook)

Sudan’s government denied army involvement in a drone strike that killed more than 150 people at a market in the disputed Abyei region bordering South Sudan, according to local reports, as drone warfare intensified across Darfur and Kordofan.

The army, meanwhile, said it had recaptured military positions in Blue Nile state near the Ethiopian border and shot down a drone that crossed into Sudan from Ethiopia.

In a statement issued late Thursday, Sudan’s Foreign Ministry expressed deep regret over the civilian deaths, categorically denying “any connection between the Sudanese Armed Forces and this unfortunate incident.”

Aftermath of the fire that targeted a civilian truck in Abyei market (United Nations - Facebook)

The ministry said the attack bore similarities to atrocities blamed on the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), citing a December 2025 strike on a United Nations peacekeeping headquarters in Kadugli, South Kordofan, that killed peacekeepers, as well as attacks on humanitarian aid convoys.

The denial followed the army’s publication of images on Facebook in recent days indicating it had struck RSF command centers in the area.

An army officer also told the Associated Press that the strikes targeted fuel trucks heading to the RSF, denying that civilians had been targeted. The army leadership has made no official admission of responsibility.

South Sudan’s Foreign Ministry summoned Sudan’s ambassador in Juba to protest the attack, amid growing fears that the war’s fallout could spill across the border.

Peacekeeping forces in Abyei (UNISFA) participating in rescuing victims from Al-Na'am market (United Nations - Facebook)

UN, African Union Condemn Strikes

Oil-rich Abyei remains a flashpoint between Sudan and South Sudan, with sovereignty over the territory disputed since South Sudan’s independence in 2011. A UN peacekeeping force is deployed in the area.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned Monday’s drone attacks on Abyei, which killed dozens of civilians, including women and children, urging Khartoum and Juba to prevent further strikes and uphold the region’s demilitarized status.

African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf also condemned the attacks, citing local and medical reports of more than 150 deaths.

He urged the warring sides to avoid actions that could inflame the conflict or threaten neighboring countries and reaffirmed support for mediation efforts to secure an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.

Elsewhere, the RSF-led parallel government, known as Tasis, accused the Sudanese army of striking a hospital in El Daein, the capital of East Darfur, with a drone on Thursday, killing three people and wounding dozens, according to its account.

In a statement Friday, Tasis said further airstrikes hit the government secretariat in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, where the RSF runs its administration of territories under its control.

Pro-army social media platforms reported heavy airstrikes on RSF positions in Nyala, El Daein, El Fasher and parts of West Kordofan.

Local reports said the strikes hit fuel depots and military vehicles in the oil-producing Abu Jabra area of East Darfur, as well as positions in Babanusa, West Kordofan.

A military source cited in the reports said the raids aimed to cripple RSF logistics ahead of possible ground operations.

Image published by the Sudanese Army of a command post belonging to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Abyei (its Facebook page)

Army Reports Gains in Blue Nile

On another front, Sudan’s army said Thursday evening it had retaken Bakori and Aklili in southeastern Blue Nile state near the Ethiopian border after clashes with an alliance of the RSF and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu.

The army’s 4th Infantry Division, based in Damazin, said on Facebook that its troops had “liberated” both areas, inflicting heavy losses on opposing forces.

Bakori holds strategic military importance as the site of a 13th Brigade base along a route to Damazin, the state capital. RSF-allied forces had seized the area in August.

The army also said it had downed a drone it described as “strategic” over Bakori, claiming it had tracked the aircraft from the moment it crossed the Ethiopian border. It said the drone targeted fuel trucks believed to be heading to the RSF.

Sudan has accused Ethiopia of allowing the RSF to use its territory to launch drone strikes and ground operations inside Sudan, allegations Addis Ababa denies.

Arab World

Egyptian Foreign Ministry to Asharq Al-Awsat: No Obstacles Hindering Dutch Embassy Operations

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty meets his Dutch counterpart, Tom Berendsen, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last September (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty meets his Dutch counterpart, Tom Berendsen, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last September (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
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Egyptian Foreign Ministry to Asharq Al-Awsat: No Obstacles Hindering Dutch Embassy Operations

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty meets his Dutch counterpart, Tom Berendsen, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last September (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty meets his Dutch counterpart, Tom Berendsen, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last September (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)

Egypt has seen no obstacles to the Dutch embassy's operations in Cairo, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Friday, after the mission closed to the public until further notice.

“Temporary measures by diplomatic missions to suspend public access are routine and do not signal any disruption to embassy operations,” ministry spokesperson Ambassador Nader Zaki told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“We have seen nothing hindering the Dutch embassy's work,” he said.

Zaki said Egypt was fully committed to protecting foreign embassies and diplomatic missions on its territory in line with international agreements governing diplomatic relations.

He pointed to a phone call about a week earlier between Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and his Dutch counterpart, Tom Berendsen, in which the two discussed embassy security following incidents involving Egypt's mission in the Netherlands.

Zaki said diplomatic missions in Cairo enjoyed greater security and protection than those in many other capitals and were free to operate without interference, “unlike the treatment of some of our embassies.”

The Dutch embassy announced on Thursday that its Cairo premises would remain closed to the public until further notice as a precautionary measure.

In a Facebook statement, the embassy said the Dutch Foreign Ministry had ordered the closure “in light of demonstrations taking place in front of the (embassy) building.”

People with scheduled appointments would be contacted or notified as soon as possible about rescheduling, it said, adding that the “temporary closure would not affect the services provided by VFS Global in Cairo.”

The move followed diplomatic exchanges over the protection of Egypt's embassy in The Hague.

On Oct. 13, Egypt's Foreign Ministry said Abdelatty had discussed with Berendsen the need to safeguard the Egyptian mission under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the principle of reciprocity.

The call came days after videos circulated on social media showing an opponent of the Egyptian authorities displaying offensive placards targeting them in the presence of Dutch police officers.

The ministers also discussed the detention of an Egyptian citizen in the Netherlands. Abdelatty sought details of the incident and called for his swift release, the ministry said.

About a week ago, dozens of Egyptians protested outside the Dutch embassy in Cairo, demanding the release of Ahmed Nasser, deputy chairman of the unofficial Union of Egyptian Youth Abroad, following his detention in the Netherlands.

Nasser is a prominent opponent of displaying offensive placards outside Egyptian embassies abroad.