BEIRUT — Israel escalated its ground campaign in southern Lebanon on Thursday, deploying Division 162 to join two other army divisions already operating in the country, as the death toll climbed past 1,100 and international pressure mounted over the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding across the region.
The deployment marks a significant expansion of what Israeli officials have described as ‘limited and targeted ground operations.’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the military’s objective is to carve out a larger buffer zone in southern Lebanon, pushing Hezbollah’s rocket capabilities far enough from the border to protect Israeli communities in the north. Israeli media reported that three divisions — amounting to thousands of troops — are now active in the south, with two additional divisions expected to join operations within days.
The fighting has exacted a devastating toll on Lebanese civilians. Lebanon’s Ministry of Health recorded at least 1,116 deaths and 3,229 wounded since Israel launched intensified attacks in early March. Among the dead are at least 111 children. The United Nations confirmed that more than 1.2 million people have been forced from their homes, while Lebanese authorities put the displacement figure at one million. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz made clear that displaced residents of southern Lebanon would not be permitted to return until the security of northern Israel is guaranteed — a statement that drew sharp condemnation from rights groups and foreign governments alike.
Thursday’s fighting was fierce on multiple fronts. Hezbollah announced more than 45 separate military operations against Israeli forces, targeting troops with rockets and drones across southern Lebanon. Guided missiles struck two Merkava tanks in the border town of Deir Siryan. A rocket attack on the coastal Israeli city of Nahariya killed one person and injured 11 others. The Israeli military reported one soldier killed and four wounded in a separate incident in the south. Two Israeli soldiers have been killed in Lebanon in total since ground operations began.
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem vowed the group would continue fighting without limits, and the organisation’s Radwan Force was reported to be sending hundreds of fighters southward to reinforce positions. An Israel Defense Forces spokesman said Hezbollah was firing hundreds of rockets per day into Israeli territory.
The conflict was triggered when Hezbollah launched rockets and drones into Israel following the February 28 assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, framing the strikes as retaliation for both the killing and repeated Israeli attacks. Israel responded with aerial and ground assaults across Lebanon, issuing mass forced displacement orders for residents of southern Lebanon and several suburbs of Beirut. The evacuation zone has expanded dramatically: Israel initially ordered residents south of the Litani River — roughly 30 kilometres from the Israeli border — to leave, then nearly doubled the zone by pushing the boundary north to the Zahrani River, 40 kilometres from the border.
The human cost in specific communities has been stark. Israeli air strikes killed four people, including two children, in the town of Qantara. Three people died in two separate strikes on the village of Kfar Sir, where two paramedics from the Islamic Health Society were also killed when their ambulance arrived at a strike site. A third paramedic died in a strike on a civil defence centre in Yater. Amnesty International warned that the systematic destruction of bridges and homes in southern Lebanon mirrored what it described as Israel’s record of atrocity crimes in Gaza, where Israel has waged war against Palestinians since October 2023.
Diplomatic alarm is intensifying. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam spoke by phone with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday, warning against any deepening of the Israeli ground invasion. Salam said Israel’s actions and statements threaten Lebanese sovereignty, violate international law and contravene the UN Charter, and announced his government would submit a formal complaint to the UN Security Council.
Five Western nations — France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Canada — issued a joint warning that an expanded Israeli ground offensive would have devastating humanitarian consequences. The statement reflects growing unease among traditional Israeli allies over the scale and pace of the military campaign. Hezbollah is designated a terrorist organisation by both the United Kingdom and the United States.
With Israeli fighter jets continuing to strike towns and villages across the south, a third military division now on the ground, and Hezbollah showing no sign of standing down, the conflict shows every indication of deepening before any diplomatic resolution can take hold.
