Israeli forces have continued military operations in southern Lebanon despite a three-week extension of the US-brokered ceasefire, as Hezbollah dismissed the truce as worthless and vowed to retaliate against any further Israeli action.
The ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon took effect on April 16, 2026, establishing a 10-day cessation of hostilities intended to enable negotiations toward a longer-term settlement. On April 23, US President Donald Trump announced a three-week extension of the truce.
Despite the extension, fighting between Israel and Hezbollah continued, with Israel carrying out fresh strikes and Hezbollah calling the ceasefire arrangement completely without meaning. Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Fayyad stated that every Israeli attack gave the group the right to retaliate, and that the ceasefire was pointless given Israel’s continued hostilities, including assassinations and artillery fire.
Israel has issued forced evacuation orders for seven towns in southern Lebanon that lie beyond its self-declared buffer zone, including areas north of the Litani River where Israeli troops have maintained an active military presence. The Israeli military said Hezbollah was violating the ceasefire and that it would act against the group accordingly.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu maintained that Israel was preserving full freedom of action against any threat, accusing Hezbollah of attempting to sabotage the ceasefire deal.
Under the terms of the truce, Israel reserves the right to respond to planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks, and has struck what it describes as Hezbollah military infrastructure sites nearly every day since the ceasefire began.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported that since fighting resumed in early March, at least 2,509 people had been killed and more than 7,700 wounded in Israeli attacks. The United Nations Secretary-General welcomed the ceasefire extension and commended US mediation efforts, but the path toward a durable agreement remains deeply uncertain with Hezbollah refusing to disarm while Israeli forces remain on Lebanese soil.
