Israel said on Tuesday it was not trying to take territory in Lebanon, as its military issued a wave of new evacuation warnings for towns and villages in the war-torn south. Israel has been fighting Hezbollah since early March, and is sending troops into southern Lebanon to fight the Iran-backed militant group, with violence continuing despite a shaky April 17 ceasefire. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told a news conference, “Israel has no territorial ambitions in Lebanon. Our presence… serves one purpose: to protect our citizens.” “No country will be willing to live with a gun pointed at its head like this,” he said, as the military stepped up its campaign in Lebanon against Iran-backed Hezbollah.
