Netanyahu: The Israeli Army is About to Occupy Hezbollah Stronghold

Xinhua News Agency, Jerusalem, April 15 (Reporter Pang Xinyi, Wang Zhuolun) - Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu stated in a speech on the evening of the 15th that the Israeli military is about to occupy the stronghold of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, Bint Jbeil (also known as Bint Jubayl).

Netanyahu said that the Israeli military is continuing to strike Hezbollah, with the fighting concentrated in its "core stronghold," Bint Jbeil. The Israeli military is about to occupy and "destroy" this Hezbollah stronghold.

The Israeli military later confirmed that earlier that day, five Israeli soldiers were injured in a rocket attack by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, one of whom was seriously injured.

According to reports from Israel's Channel 12 television that evening, the United States is pressuring Israel to agree to a temporary ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah. The report cited sources from Israeli security agencies saying that the U.S. proposed a temporary ceasefire of about a week, during which both sides would further negotiate, but the Israeli side has not yet made a decision on this.

In his speech, Netanyahu also stated that he had instructed the Israeli military the day before to continue expanding the so-called security "buffer zone," extending it eastward to the slopes of Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights.

Israel occupied the military buffer zone and the strategic site of Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights after the upheaval in Syria in December 2024, seeking to "fully demilitarize" several provinces in southern Syria.