Lebanon's Aoun vows to 'do the impossible' as death toll crosses 3,000

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Monday (May 18) he was ready to "do the impossible" to stop the war with Israel, as the health ministry reported that Israeli strikes have killed more than 3,000 people since the conflict began on March 2. "My duty, based on my position and my responsibility, is to do the impossible, and to choose what is least costly, to stop the war against Lebanon and its people," Aoun said in a statement as quoted by news agency AFP.

The death toll of 3,020 includes 211 people aged 18 and under and 116 healthcare workers. More than 400 of those deaths have occurred since the ceasefire took effect on April 17. Despite the truce being extended for 45 days last week following a third round of talks between Lebanese and Israeli representatives in Washington, violence has continued on both sides. Hezbollah, which opposes the Washington discussions, said Monday (May 18) it had struck "an Iron Dome platform belonging to the Israeli enemy army" at a military encampment in northern Israel using a drone, calling it a response to Israeli ceasefire violations. The group also claimed a drone attack on "the vehicle of the commander of the 300th Brigade of the Israeli enemy army."

Israel, meanwhile, carried out a fresh series of strikes across south Lebanon, issued evacuation warnings to three southern villages, and later repeated its warning to a village on the outskirts of the coastal city of Tyre. Israeli forces, operating inside a self-declared "yellow line" running roughly ten kilometres north of the border, have also continued large-scale demolitions in occupied parts of south Lebanon.

Aoun outlined Lebanon's negotiating terms: “an Israeli withdrawal, a ceasefire, the deployment of the army along the border, the return of the displaced, and economic aid.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged on Sunday the growing challenge posed by Hezbollah's increasing use of first-person view drones against Israeli forces.