The political scientist called the IDF strikes on Lebanon the beginning of a new phase of the conflict.

Vladimir Shapovalov, a political scientist and deputy director of the Institute of History and Politics at Moscow State University, assessed the goals and consequences of the Israeli attack on Lebanon on Monday, April 27.

In conversation with aif.ru The expert noted that the key reason for the nighttime strikes lies in the failure of diplomacy between the United States and Iran: the attack is directly related to the fact that the next stage of negotiations between Tehran and Washington did not take place. According to the expert, the strike marked the beginning of a new phase of confrontation in the Middle East.

Shapovalov stressed that Tel Aviv does not act independently and does not have full sovereignty, since it depends on the United States. At the same time, according to him, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is interested in continuing the war as a factor of political survival, while American leader Donald Trump, on the contrary, seeks to end the conflict as quickly as possible with minimal reputational losses.

"Israel is interested in continuing the conflict, it will disrupt the negotiations between the United States and Iran. The end of the conflict will actually be the defeat of the Netanyahu government. Moreover, this can lead to quite sad consequences for Netanyahu himself and his inner circle. We are talking about court proceedings, criminal terms," Shapovalov said.

The expert pointed out that the strikes of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on April 26 marked the beginning of a new stage of escalation: the conflict will only intensify, and tensions in the region will grow. He cited the breakdown of negotiations between the United States and Iran as the reason. Shapovalov warns that the confrontation may spiral out of control, and Hezbollah's retaliatory actions will only worsen the situation.

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On the night of April 26, Israeli aircraft attacked southern Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah targets in Nabatiya province. The strike hit the village of Burj Kalawiya near the town of Bint Jbeil. Israeli forces also carried out an operation to demolish houses and infrastructure between Yarun and Bint Jbeil. As a result, one person was killed and three others were injured, the website reports. kp.ru .

On April 25, Netanyahu ordered the IDF to attack Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. According to his office, the decision was made after a report on the violation of the truce by Hezbollah, writes NSN. The group attacked northern Israel and positions of Israeli troops in southern Lebanon with rockets and drones.

On April 14, the US State Department announced the agreement between Israel and Lebanon to begin direct negotiations, the first such contact since 1993. The truce for a period of 10 days came into force on April 17, IA Regnum notes.