Israel Hopes Strikes Advance Lebanon Talks

Israel hopes that its attacks on the militant group Hezbollah will move negotiations with Lebanon forward, Doron Spielman, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told AFP on Saturday. According to him, the strikes themselves should kick-start the talks and lend them greater seriousness, rather than derail them.

"And I think it will. It will hopefully move these talks along because the enemy here is clear and the enemy is Hezbollah", Spielman said. At least 11 people, including three children and two women, were killed on Saturday in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, as reported by Reuters.

The Israeli military said it struck Hezbollah infrastructure overnight in retaliation for militant attacks in an area of southern Lebanon that it designates as its security zone. Three Israeli soldiers were wounded. The military said it struck the headquarters of the elite Radwan unit operating within Hezbollah in response, killing one of its commanders.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the ongoing Israeli strikes on Saturday, calling them a clear message regarding the negotiations. According to him, Israel is violating the framework agreement reached in late June and international law on the protection of civilians.

A spokesperson for Netanyahu told AFP that Israel continues to abide by the US-brokered agreement, which outlines a plan for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon in exchange for the disarmament of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement. The Lebanese army is to gradually take control of the area. "We believe in the agreement. We very much hope that the Lebanese Armed Forces are going to be able to step into the foray, and together we're going to remove Hezbollah from the picture."

Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into the war in the Middle East in early March when it began firing rockets at Israel in support of its ally, Iran. Israel responded with extensive airstrikes and a ground invasion, which, according to Lebanese authorities, have already claimed the lives of at least 4,300 people.

(tasr, afp, reuters)