Hello there. ABC Middle East correspondent Matthew Doran writing to you from Beirut today.<\/p>\n
Here’s your daily wrap of the latest news on the conflict spanning the Middle East at the end of day 25 of the war.<\/p>\n
Iran war live updates:<\/a> For all the latest news on the war in the Middle East, read our blog.<\/p>\n Here’s what you need to know today:Israel has announced plans to occupy southern Lebanon<\/a> from the Blue Line \u2014 the name given to the Israel-Lebanon border after Israel last occupied the region \u2014 all the way north to the Litani River, the boundary of what has long been considered Hezbollah’s heartland in the south. Hezbollah is promising to fight back<\/a>.The Lebanese government is kicking the Iranian ambassador out of the country<\/a>, giving him a deadline of Sunday to leave. Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, dragged Lebanon into the broader Middle Eastern war by firing upon Israel. It has been accused of being an Iranian puppet, straying from its original ethos of resistance against Israel. Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) officials are among those who have been targeted by Israel in Beirut. Hezbollah says the ambassador shouldn’t leave.Iran issued a fresh warning against Israel, promising to attack the Israeli military in Gaza and northern Israel if it targeted civilians in Lebanon and Palestine. Israel continues to attack sites across Iran<\/a>, targeting what it describes as “regime infrastructure”. In response, Iran launched wave after wave of missiles at Israel, some hitting residential areas near Tel Aviv<\/a>.Pakistan has thrown its hat into the ring to act as a mediator between the United States and Iran <\/a>in an effort to end the war in the Gulf. It comes amid continued mixed messages about whether talks arp happening or not<\/a> \u2014 Donald Trump saying negotiations are progressing, Iran adopting the US president’s own turn of phrase and saying that’s “fake news”.Here’s what all that means<\/p>\n Israel’s war against Hezbollah has taken a dangerous turn. But it’s one many feared was coming the moment Israeli troops and tanks started pouring over the border into Lebanon a few weeks ago.<\/p>\n The Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, said his country would seek to occupy southern Lebanon<\/a>, from its border to the Litani River.<\/p>\n It’s a serious step and comes with an objective that can keep that occupation open ended \u2014 Israel promising it will hold that land for as long as is necessary to protect northern Israel from Hezbollah rocket fire.<\/p>\n I spoke to Ayoub Khreich, the mayor of Ain Ebel \u2014 a Lebanese Christian village just six kilometres from the Israeli border \u2014 before the occupation announcement.<\/p>\n I asked him whether he feared the military activity enveloping his town was the first step of occupation.<\/p>\n “Honestly, we cannot think that far ahead. We are still in shock,” he said.<\/p>\n “We don’t know what will happen, whether we will be allowed to live in peace.<\/p>\n “The most important thing is to protect our village and our people.”<\/p>\n There is no excusing or avoiding Hezbollah’s actions and responsibilities in this conflict. It has dragged Lebanon into a regional war by attacking Israel in solidarity with the Iranian regime in Tehran.<\/p>\n Israel has been attacking claimed Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon almost daily, even despite a ceasefire agreement back in November 2024.<\/p>\n Katz has said this is a result of the Lebanese government’s inaction and ineptitude in dealing with Hezbollah, which is considered a terrorist organisation in many countries, including Australia.<\/p>\n But it was the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon, from 1982 to 2000, that served as the catalyst for Hezbollah’s existence as a resistance movement.<\/p>\n Returning to that period, if Israel actually followed through on this occupation plan, it could strengthen the resolve of Hezbollah, however outgunned it is by Israel.<\/p>\n The one thing that is clear is that the Lebanese state and population will struggle to deal with this. They’re already at breaking point after more than three weeks of Israeli strikes, with more than a million people displaced across the country.<\/p>\n And even if there is some breakthrough in negotiations between the US and Iran, there’s no suggestion the war in Lebanon will end at the same time the broader conflict is resolved.<\/p>\n