SOUTHERN LEBANON — Israel's military clashed with Hezbollah along the Litani River in southern Lebanon on May 26, 2026, as Israeli troops advanced farther north days before scheduled talks in Washington between Lebanese and Israeli delegations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu authorized more intensive strikes targeting Hezbollah across Lebanon.

Israel's military struck more than 100 Hezbollah sites across southern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley overnight, targeting storage facilities, command centers, and observation points. An Israeli strike hit the eastern Lebanese village of Mashghara, killing 12 people, including several members of one family, according to Lebanon's state-run National News Agency. An Israeli security official said the military called up an additional battalion to Lebanon.

Israel intensified strikes in the city and province of Nabatiyeh, just north of the Litani River, and warned residents to leave on May 26. Hezbollah launched rocket, artillery, and exploding drone attacks on Israeli troops and vehicles near the Nabatiyeh villages of Yohmor al-Shaqif and Zawtar al-Sharqieh. Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV reported that the group repelled attacks along the Litani River banks.

"What this requires of us now is to increase the blows, to increase the intensity. We will smite them hip and thigh," Netanyahu said on May 25, 2026.

The Litani River has functioned as a de facto boundary in Lebanon, with areas south of it under Israeli military control despite a ceasefire in place for over a month. Beirut has not been struck by Israeli airstrikes since the start of the ceasefire.

In Beirut's Hamra district, resident Tony Aboud said: "By just saying a few words on TV, (Netanyahu) causes everyone to panic and flee their homes. I don't know what's going to happen and how long we can live like this."

The Lebanese government hopes that direct talks with Israel will lead to a permanent ceasefire and Israeli troop withdrawal from Lebanon. Hezbollah opposes the direct talks and has vowed to continue fighting until Israel stops its daily airstrikes and withdraws its troops. Israel says it will not withdraw from Lebanon until Hezbollah no longer poses a threat to residents of northern Israel. Hezbollah claims it is using new fiber-optic drones that Israeli troops have struggled to intercept. Israel has advised people in northern Israel not to gather in large numbers.

The war began on March 2, 2026, when Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel in solidarity with Iran, two days after the Iran war began. Over 1 million people in Lebanon have been displaced. At least 3,185 people have been killed and more than 9,600 wounded in Israeli strikes in Lebanon since the start of the war, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. According to Netanyahu's office, 23 Israeli soldiers and one defense contractor have been killed in or near southern Lebanon, and two civilians have been killed in northern Israel, the vast majority by drones.