Israeli forces have struck approximately 200 Hezbollah targets across southern Lebanon in a single 24-hour period, as the Israeli army's chief of staff declared the entire area south of the Litani River — a waterway that runs roughly 30 kilometres north of the Israeli border — a "Hezbollah terrorist kill zone." General Eyal Zamir made the announcement during a visit to frontline troops on Wednesday, underscoring Israel's intent to press a ground invasion that has been under way since the conflict began on March 2. The campaign has now killed more than 2,100 people in Lebanon, according to Lebanese government figures.
Among the latest casualties were at least three paramedics killed in the southern town of Mayfadun, after Lebanon's health ministry said Israeli strikes hit rescue teams "three consecutive times" as they attempted to reach people wounded in an initial attack. Six other paramedics were injured and one remains missing. The ministry condemned what it called a "flagrant crime" intended to prevent medical workers from operating, and said Israel has killed 91 healthcare workers in Lebanon since the war began. Separately, Israeli strikes hit two vehicles on the coastal highway roughly 20 kilometres south of Beirut, an area outside Hezbollah's traditional strongholds in the south and the Bekaa Valley.
Hezbollah, the Iran-backed armed group and political movement with a powerful military wing, claimed rocket attacks on northern Israel and on Israeli troops operating inside Lebanese territory, with the Israeli military reporting approximately 30 launches since early Wednesday. Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said the group's fighters were preventing Israeli soldiers from seizing control of Bint Jbeil, a key southern town five kilometres north of the Israeli border that Israel says it has encircled.
The fighting continues despite a cautious diplomatic opening: Lebanon and Israel's ambassadors to the United States held their first direct talks in decades in Washington on Tuesday, agreeing to further negotiations. The Lebanese envoy called for a ceasefire, but Israel stated there was "no ceasefire discussion" with Hezbollah, and the group itself has strongly rejected the talks. Lebanon's foreign ministry has separately asked its UN representative to file an urgent complaint with the Security Council over a wave of Israeli strikes on April 8 that killed more than 350 people.
On the broader regional picture, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Israel and the United States share "identical goals" in the conflict with Iran, Hezbollah's principal backer. Netanyahu said Washington has kept Israel informed of its contacts with Tehran, with both countries seeking the removal of enriched nuclear material, an end to Iran's enrichment programme, and the reopening of key maritime routes. The alignment signals that Israeli military operations in Lebanon are being pursued within a wider strategic framework coordinated with Washington, even as international and regional pressure mounts to halt strikes on civilian infrastructure.