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Israel expands ground offensive on Lebanon
Israel launched fresh strikes across south Lebanon Saturday after ordering evacuations from more than a dozen locations a day after its premier said Israeli forces had pushed even deeper into Lebanese territory.
Lebanon's Army said a "targeted" Israeli strike wounded two soldiers near the southern city of Nabatieh, just a day after military delegations from both countries held landmark security talks in Washington.
The military talks in the US capital came ahead of US-brokered negotiations early next week -- the fourth round since the latest Israel-Hezbollah conflict erupted.
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported Israeli several strikes in the south, including artillery fire near the mediaeval-era Beaufort castle.
The Lebanese presidency announced in a statement that President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam had agreed "to intensify contacts to put an end to these condemned Israeli practices" ahead of the new round of talks with Israel scheduled for June 2 and 3.
Aoun and Salam discussed "Israeli attacks and their expansion to a number of southern cities and villages, especially in the districts of Tyre and Nabatieh, in addition to the continued bombing and bulldozing of houses, and the destruction of historical landmarks in the south".
Also on Saturday, Hezbollah resistance group said it fired rockets at the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona.
The group said it also ambushed Israeli soldiers near Ghandouriyeh in southern Lebanon, adding that it forced them to withdraw, and fired rockets at a military base in north Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Friday that Israeli forces had advanced beyond the Litani river that runs around 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the frontier.
Israeli strikes on the south killed 11 people on Friday, according to the Health Ministry in Beirut.
The ministry says that Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,300 people since March 2.