The Albany Gazette - Lebanon PM denounces Israeli campaign as fresh strikes hit south

A day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his forces had advanced deeper into Lebanon, his counterpart Nawaf Salam warned the country was facing a "dangerous" escalation, and called for "a swift and real ceasefire".

In a televised address, Salam accused Israel of "pursuing a scorched-earth policy and collective punishment" by "destroying towns and villages, and forcing their inhabitants into exile".

This will bring "neither security nor stability" to Israel, he said.

Still, he defended his government's engagement with its southern neighbour, after military delegations from both countries held security talks in Washington on Friday, with more US-brokered negotiations planned next week.

Salam said the outcome of the negotiations was "not guaranteed", but called them "the least costly path for our country and our people".

A truce to halt the fighting between Israel and Tehran-backed Hezbollah officially took effect on April 17, but has never been observed. Both Israel and Hezbollah accuse each other of violating the ceasefire and justify their attacks by the other's alleged breaches.

A US statement issued after Friday's Israel-Lebanon talks made no mention of the truce, but said the "productive military-to-military discussions" would inform next week's political meeting.

Hezbollah vehemently opposes the direct talks.

- Fresh attacks -

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported several Israeli attacks in the south Saturday, and the Lebanese military said two of its soldiers "were seriously wounded... by a hostile Israeli drone" near the southern city of Nabatieh.

The Israeli military issued fresh evacuation warnings covering villages near Nabatieh and others in the east of the country.

Hezbollah said it launched multiple attacks targeting northern Israel Saturday, and had also clashed with Israeli soldiers near Ghandouriyeh and Debbine in southern Lebanon, saying it forced them to withdraw.

The Israeli military told AFP that more than 20 rockets and drones were launched from Lebanon on Saturday.

Netanyahu announced on Friday that Israeli forces had advanced beyond the Litani River, which runs around 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of the Lebanon-Israel frontier, and were "hitting Hezbollah head on".

The Lebanese health ministry says that Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,371 people since March 2, when Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war in support of its backer Iran.

Hezbollah said it attacked Israel in retaliation for the death of Iran's supreme leader in US-Israeli strikes when the war erupted on February 28.

Iran has insisted that any agreement to end the wider Middle East war also cover Lebanon.

(T.Martin--TAG)