Israel has continued to reject a ceasefire with Lebanon and was still operating there on Friday, with both sides exchanging fire. Israel’s military was also continuing ground operations in southern Lebanon, including locating and blowing up weapons, the military said.
Israel has for months sought to push Hezbollah back beyond the Litani River, which cuts across southern Lebanon and has long been treated by Israel as a de facto buffer line with the militant group. Netanyahu has promised to continue striking Hezbollah in Lebanon until Israel can restore security for Israelis who live in the country’s north.
Privately, Israeli officials describe their goals more narrowly: deepening a buffer in the north and shaping the battlefield so any future negotiations begin from a more favorable balance of power.
“We’re trying to create the conditions for Hezbollah to be disarmed,” an Israeli military official said, adding that if Israel’s military efforts further degrade the group’s ability to launch rockets from southern Lebanon, “then the idea of an agreement working in the future could be more realistic.” The official, like others, was granted anonymity to speak candidly about Israeli military strategy.
While Iran, Pakistan and others say Lebanon will be part of the ongoing ceasefire negotiations, Netanyahu has insisted they are separate and says Israel will open up discrete talks with Lebanon on disarming Hezbollah and restoring peaceful relations with the country.
Even as Netanyahu has curbed some military options to preserve alignment with Washington, the war may still yield a lasting strategic gain: serious economic damage to Iran, an Israeli military official and two of the former officials said.