TEL AVIV (Realist English). On May 5, 2026, the 942nd day of the war Israel is waging against terrorist organisations in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank, hostilities reached a new level of intensity.
The Israel Defense Forces struck 40 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, said it had killed dozens of militants and announced it was ready to resume full-scale combat operations in the Gaza Strip, where negotiations on Hamas’s disarmament have reached an impasse.
At the same time, the IDF struck Iranian ships in the Caspian Sea that were carrying Russian drones.
Lebanese front: 40 targets in one day and Israel’s new tactics
The fiercest fighting in recent days has taken place in southern Lebanon, where the IDF is continuing its operation against Hezbollah. Israeli aircraft struck several Lebanese villages, including Jbaait and Sarafand, hitting 40 militant infrastructure targets. Among the targets were command centres, military facilities, weapons depots and surveillance equipment.
According to the Israeli military, the 226th Brigade, together with the Yahalom engineering unit, destroyed an underground tunnel around 30 metres long that was being used by militants as a command post. Nearby, around three tonnes of explosives, 43 directional mines, anti-tank systems and Kornet missiles were discovered.
Overnight, Hezbollah militants fired several mortar shells towards the area where Israeli forces are based in southern Lebanon. There were no casualties. In response, the IDF attacked the building from which the fire was coming and used a drone to strike two armed militants who attempted to flee on a motorcycle.
Hezbollah, for its part, claimed 13 attacks on Israeli positions in 24 hours, using rockets, artillery and drones. The strikes targeted the settlements of Kanthar, Bayada, Deir Mimas and others. The group says it will continue its attacks until Israel stops bombing Lebanese territory.
According to the Israeli military’s own admission, since the ceasefire came into force on April 17, the IDF has struck roughly 500 targets in Lebanon. During the same period, five Israeli soldiers have been killed and 33 wounded. Two soldiers were killed by drone-borne explosives, three by improvised explosive devices and two in direct clashes with militants.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry reports that 17 people have been killed in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of victims since March 2 to 2,696 dead and 8,264 wounded.
The Lebanese Army said there were fatalities as a result of an Israeli attack on Kfar in the south of the country on the afternoon of May 5.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said conditions for a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were not yet ripe. A cessation of attacks is a prerequisite for any negotiations.
Gaza Strip: Israel threatens to resume war
Tensions in the Palestinian direction have reached boiling point. Hamas has officially stated that the Israeli military’s threats to resume hostilities in the Gaza Strip are a “violation of the ceasefire agreement” and contradict US President Donald Trump’s peace plan. Movement spokesman Hazem Qassem stressed that Hamas remains “consistently committed” to working with mediators to find acceptable solutions.
On the evening of May 3, the Israeli security cabinet held a meeting at which it discussed the possibility of returning to large-scale military operations in the Gaza Strip against a backdrop of rising local tensions and stalled talks in Cairo. Israeli authorities justify the move by accusing Hamas of failing to comply with the disarmament provisions.
Hamas, for its part, said it was ready to begin a second round of talks if Israel demonstrated seriousness in respecting its commitments.
Iranian direction: strike in the Caspian Sea and anticipation of a new wave of attacks
Fighting also continues beyond Lebanon and Gaza. In the past 24 hours, Israeli forces struck Iranian ships in the Caspian Sea. According to sources, the attack took place near the Iranian port of Anzali, where several military vessels sustained serious damage.
The targets were ships carrying drones and military equipment from Russia. According to various sources, up to five large ships were destroyed and another damaged. It is the first known instance of the Israeli Air Force being used in this region.
CNN, citing sources, reported that a resumption of US-Israeli strikes on targets inside Iran is expected in the coming days. This follows Iranian attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against key oil-export infrastructure of the United Arab Emirates in Fujairah.
Meanwhile, on May 5, the US struck two civilian boats carrying goods from Oman to Iran, resulting in the deaths of five people.
Official statements
Israeli Prime Minister described Hezbollah’s drones as the “main threat”.
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem, speaking on May 4, said there was “no ceasefire” in Lebanon but “continuing Israeli-American aggression”. He accused Israel of killing civilians and driving residents from their villages, and warned that the resistance would not allow Israel to achieve its goal of a “Greater Israel”.
The EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, warned the European Council of the risk of a protracted crisis in the Middle East and called on all parties to exercise restraint.
Expert opinions
Dmitry Korshunov, head of the international relations department at Nizhny Novgorod State Linguistic University, described the current phase of the conflict as a “hybrid confrontation on the principle of ‘neither war nor peace'” in an interview with Vremya N news agency: “After the powerful explosion at the end of February, we are now seeing a fragile ceasefire with no political settlement. Neither side is currently capable of imposing a decisive victory. The US has fallen into an Iranian trap.” He also stressed that the conflict is accelerating the formation of a multipolar Middle East: Russia, China and Turkey are strengthening their influence, and regional powers are beginning to look to new centres of power for support.
OSINTdefender strategists note that the strike on Iranian ships in the Caspian is a signal: Israel is intercepting the Russian technology supply chain before it reaches Iranian shores.
Analysts at The Jerusalem Post point out that Israel’s unilateral tactic of turning border villages in Lebanon into a “buffer zone” proves that “no ceasefire agreement exists in South Lebanon”.
Figures for the day
- 942 days of war
- 40 Hezbollah targets destroyed by IDF in southern Lebanon
- 13 Hezbollah attacks on Israeli forces in 24 hours
- 500 targets struck in Lebanon since the April 17 ceasefire
- 5 Israeli soldiers killed, 33 wounded (since April 17)
- 59% of the Gaza Strip territory controlled by the IDF
- 5 Iranian ships destroyed in the Caspian Sea
Israel has shifted to a strategy of three-front pressure: Lebanon (Hezbollah), Gaza (Hamas) and Iran. However, the fragile ceasefire on the Lebanese front exists only on paper – real fighting continues every day.
At the same time, threats to resume full-scale war in Gaza call into question the fate of the entire peace process, and the strike on Iranian ships in the Caspian expands the geography of the conflict.
Neither side is currently capable of winning a decisive victory, and the conflict threatens to drag on into a protracted “hybrid confrontation”. The only question is which of the three fronts will flare up first.