Lebanese army 'overly stretched' to fight off latest Israeli invasion

An Al Jazeera field report from southern Lebanon shows that the Lebanese army has been described as 'overly stretched' as Israeli forces advance north of the Litani River. A Lebanese General Staff representative who spoke to the broadcaster said air-defence systems are limited and that troops deployed along the border have been pressed into off-rotation duty over the past 72 hours.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said in a statement that the country 'faces strikes without precedent' and called on the UN Security Council to hold an urgent session. Health Minister Firas Abiad said 28 civilians had been killed in the past 48 hours, including 11 children. Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari said 'the operations target Hezbollah logistical infrastructure'; the AJ report documented damage to civilian buildings while noting that 'independent verification remains limited.'

UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti asked for additional monitoring equipment and humanitarian-corridor guarantees, and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas will raise the Lebanon-Israel threshold at Monday's extraordinary EU Council. Türkiye's foreign ministry spokesperson Oncu Keceli called for 'restraint by all sides within the UNSC Resolution 1701 framework.' U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said 'the obligation of full compliance remains in place' and that Washington was keeping diplomatic channels active.