Israeli military deploys additional forces to southern Lebanon

TEL AVIV, March 3 (Reuters) - The Israeli military deployed ‌additional forces to southern Lebanon overnight, to take up what a military ​spokesperson on Tuesday described as ​defensive positions to protect Israeli ⁠civilians and strategic sites from ​any potential Hezbollah attack.

“We’re only at ​the borderline area in a defensive manner to prevent attacks against civilians and ​very strategic important points,” Lieutenant ​Colonel Nadav Shoshani said in an online ‌briefing ⁠with reporters.

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Item 1 of 5 Debris at the site of an Israeli strike on a building that houses Al-Manar TV offices in Beirut’s southern suburbs, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 3, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. REUTERS/Stringer

**[1/5]**Debris at the site of an Israeli strike on a building that houses Al-Manar TV offices in Beirut’s southern suburbs, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 3, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. REUTERS/Stringer Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement he had authorised the military to advance ​and take ​control ⁠of additional positions in Lebanon after Hezbollah fired rockets ​at Israel late on Sunday, ​in ⁠reaction to U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran.

Israeli forces have occupied ⁠five ​positions in southern Lebanon ​since November 2024.

Reporting by Alexander Cornwell and ​Steven Scheer; Editing by Aidan Lewis

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