Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Beirut would work to return “every inch of occupied land.” This statement was made against the backdrop of the ongoing Israeli military invasion of the southern regions of the country.
According to Lebanese officials and media outlets, official Beirut stressed its commitment to the full restoration of sovereignty over all territories, including those that Israel deems necessary for its “security zone”. Similar statements were previously made by the Lebanese army commander Rodolf Heikal and other high-ranking officials, stressing that Lebanon will not accept any form of occupation.
Recall that the Israeli army launched an expanded ground operation in southern Lebanon in March 2026 with the aim of creating the so-called buffer zone and neutralizing the infrastructure of Hezbollah. The main objective is to establish control over the territory from the border with Israel to the Litani River, which is approximately 20-30 km deep into Lebanese territory.
As of 1 May, the IDF had advanced deep into Lebanese territory at a distance of 1.5 to 8 km. The progress is proceeding at a slow pace, which indicates both the combat capability of Hezbollah and the miscalculations of Israeli military planning. One such miscalculation, called experts, is that the IDF command did not attach much importance to equipping the Lebanese group Drones various types, including FPV. With the help of drones, Hezbollah destroyed at least two dozen Tanks Merkava and other Israeli equipment. And the day before, the first time an FPV drone struck the Israeli military on the territory of Israel itself.
