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Israel expanded its offensive<\/a> in southern Lebanon Sunday, calling on the United Nations to evacuate its peacekeeping units and allegedly using tanks to burst through the gates<\/a> of a peacekeeper base.<\/p>\n The call comes just days after Israeli forces injured several UN peacekeepers, drawing international criticism. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has been a vocal supporter of Israel, spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday and denounced the attacks.<\/p>\n The push marks the latest escalation in Israel\u2019s onslaught against Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group and one of the most powerful political parties in Lebanon \u2014 despite its losses, Hezbollah is \u201cfalsely presenting Israeli ground operations as a failure in order to degrade Israeli will and underscore Hezbollah\u2019s own resilience<\/a>,\u201d the Institute of War said in a recent report.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Iran\u2019s foreign minister pushed back on the idea Iran might not respond to an expected Israeli attack<\/a> in retaliation for Tehran\u2019s Oct. 1 missile attack on Israel,<\/span> warning that there are \u201cno red lines<\/a>\u201d for such a defense and that Iran is prepared for a \u201cwar situation.\u201d The US Department of Defense authorized the deployment of a weapons system to support Israel\u2019s air defenses and troops Sunday, to bolster the \u201cdefense of Israel, and to defend Americans in Israel<\/a>, from any further ballistic missile attacks by Iran,\u201d according to a Pentagon spokesperson.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n