BEIRUT, May 29. /TASS/. The Israeli military entered the municipality of Dibbin in southern Lebanon and launched a mop-up operation targeting Hezbollah militants there, local news agency Al Markaziya said.
According to the report, occupation forces moved toward Dibbin from the town of Al-Khiyam, and their onslaught was preceded by intense artillery shelling.
The town of Dibbin is located east of the region’s key waterway, the Litani River, and 30 km from the city of Nabatieh, the administrative center of the eponymous Lebanese province. Control over it will allow the Israeli military to command the high ground in the eastern sector of Southern Lebanon and create a foothold for attacks on the Iqlim al-Tuffah region, an important Hezbollah stronghold.
The Israeli armed forces also continue their operation in the triangle formed by the villages of Yohmor, Arnoun, and Mayfadoun after taking control of the town of Zawtar al-Sharqiya overlooking the Litani River.
Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israeli troops are expanding their military operation in Southern Lebanon, taking strategic areas under their control.
In the past 24 hours, Israeli warplanes struck 150 ground targets on Lebanese territory. According to a military spokesman, more than 700 Hezbollah militants have been killed in Israeli attacks since the new Israeli-Lebanese ceasefire agreement formally came into force on April 17.