Adam Fulton a.o.
The Guardian / March 26, 2026
Hezbollah’s rejection of any ceasefire talks with Israel comes as the country has carried out fresh strikes in Lebanon and said it is expanding a “buffer zone” in the south.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported Israeli strikes and artillery shelling in several southern locations on Wednesday, and the health ministry said at least eight people were killed.
The agency also reported an airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold.
Israel’s military said it struck a “command centre” there after a renewed evacuation warning.
Agence France-Presse reports that a street was covered in debris – including shattered cement and warped metal – after the early morning strike, while an apartment building’s upper floors appeared damaged.
The area has been targeted multiple times during the conflict and is largely empty of residents, who have fled.
In southern Lebanon, Israel’s military said ground troops “dismantled a weapons storage facility” and the air force killed “several terrorists”.
According to the Lebanese health ministry, 42 health workers are among more than 1,000 people killed in Lebanon in more than three weeks of Israeli strikes. Lebanese authorities say upwards of 1 million people have been displaced.
Hezbollah rejects truce talks with Israel
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem has said negotiations with Israel under fire would amount to “surrender” as it launched fresh attacks on the country.
The Iran-backed group said it launched missiles early on Thursday at military sites in central Israel, where air raid sirens sounded, Agence France-Presse is reporting.
Israeli media said six Hezbollah rockets headed for central areas were all intercepted.
Hezbollah said its fighters had launched more than 80 attacks on Wednesday – the largest daily number in the current round of fighting – and attacked Israeli forces in nine border towns.
Israel’s military said one of its soldiers was severely wounded by rocket fire in southern Lebanon, having earlier reported an officer being lightly injured in combat.
The Lebanese president has called for unprecedented direct negotiations with Israel in an effort to end the fighting but it has so far rebuffed his proposal.
Qassem said Hezbollah was not interested: “When negotiations with the Israeli enemy are proposed under fire, this is an imposition of surrender.”
Adam Fulton is a digital news producer at Guardian Australia
