Lebanon's army withdraws troops from "advanced positions" along Israeli border

Beirut [Lebanon], March 3 (ANI): Lebanon's state-run National News Agency on Tuesday said that the Lebanese army has redeployed its troops from several of its "advanced positions" along the Israeli border, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran.

This comes amid the Israeli military stating today that its soldiers are "operating in southern Lebanon" as it continues strikes against Hezbollah. The Israeli army launched airstrikes across Lebanon early Monday after intercepting a rocket fired from Lebanese territory, local media in Israel reported.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said that their military has been authorised to advance and take control of additional positions deeper in Lebanon.
He said that the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) 's move to advance in southern Lebanon is intended to prevent "direct fire" on Israeli communities and "working to create an additional layer of security for residents of northern Israel."
"To prevent the possibility of direct fire at Israeli communities, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have authorised the IDF to advance and hold additional dominant terrain in Lebanon and defend the border communities from there," Katz said in a statement.
"The IDF continues to operate forcefully against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. The terrorist organisation is paying and will pay a heavy price for the fire toward Israel," the Israeli Defence Minister said.
Hezbollah had launched rockets and drones at northern Israel early on Monday in response to Israel's killing of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khomenei. The terror group fired more rockets and drones overnight and this morning, the Times of Israel reported.
Hezbollah is a Shia Islamist political party and militant group based in Lebanon, widely considered Iran's most powerful and significant proxy.
Israel said Monday that the head of Hezbollah's intelligence arm was killed in an overnight strike, and Beirut said it would ban the terror group's military activities, hours after the Iran-backed organisation fired rockets and drones at Israel, leading to major retaliatory strikes overnight and throughout Monday.
Lebanon's National News Agency and the Times of Israel reported that an overnight strike in southern Beirut killed Adham al-Othman,41, a senior commander in Palestinian Islamic Jihad's al-Quds Brigades.
Israel had said on Monday that Hussein Makled, the head of Hezbollah's intelligence arm was killed in an overnight strike on Beirut.
The Israeli military said Makled was responsible for "forming the intelligence picture using various intelligence collection tools to provide the Hezbollah terror organisation with intelligence assessments regarding IDF troops and the State of Israel."
Yesterday, Lebanese President General Joseph Aoun condemned the aggression by Israel targeting the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
A report by Qatar News Agency (QNA) cited a statement by the Lebanese Presidency in which Aoun said that the launching of rockets from Lebanese territory at dawn on Monday "targets all efforts and endeavours made by the state to keep Lebanon distanced from the dangerous military confrontations in the region."
He emphasised that "the Lebanese state has repeatedly warned of the consequences of regional escalation on the country and has called for prudence and responsible action guided by the national interest."
Aoun also warned that "persisting in using Lebanon once again as a platform for 'support wars' we have no part in will expose the country to new risks."
Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam had in a statement after a cabinet meeting, said Lebanon had rejected any military actions launched from its territory "outside the framework of its legitimate institutions and affirmed that the decision of war and peace is exclusively in its hands."
Salam was cited by NNA, Lebanese news agency as saying that "The Lebanese state declares its absolute and unequivocal rejection of any military or security operations launched from Lebanese territory outside the framework of its legitimate institutions."
"It affirms that the decision of war and peace rests solely with the state, necessitating the immediate prohibition of all Hezbollah's security and military activities, deeming them illegal. Hezbollah is obligated to surrender its weapons to the Lebanese state and confine its activities to the political sphere within constitutional and legal frameworks," Salam said.
Salam ordered the military and security agencies to take "immediate measures" to implement the cabinet decision and prevent "any military operation or the launching of missiles or drones from Lebanese territory." (ANI)