Despite the U.S. sending a new ceasefire proposal to Hezbollah on Thursday, fighting in the region has intensified.

The IDF confirmed that its troops advanced beyond the initial objectives of their ground offensive into southern Lebanon, resulting in several soldier fatalities.

The new proposal was delivered through U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Lisa Johnson to Nabih Berri, Lebanon’s Speaker of Parliament, who represents Hezbollah in negotiations. The draft had been developed in recent meetings between U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein and Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer. A political source told Reuters that the document was intended to gather feedback from the Lebanese side, though details of its contents were not disclosed.

This week, both Hezbollah and France, which is also involved in mediation, indicated they would reject Israel’s demand for the right to enforce any potential agreement with military force. Even Samir Geagea, a prominent Lebanese Christian leader and vocal critic of Hezbollah, rejected the idea. He told Reuters that allowing Israel to enforce the agreement at will was “unthinkable,” though he acknowledged Lebanon’s limited ability to oppose Israeli actions.

Meanwhile, Israeli casualties have risen as the IDF has escalated its operations in Lebanon. After making significant gains in the first phase of the offensive, which focused on villages near the border, the IDF has now pushed into the second line of villages up to 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) into Lebanese territory. The military has clarified that its current objective is not to clear these areas completely but to neutralize weapons stockpiles that cannot be targeted from the air.

IDF spokesman Brig.-Gen. Daniel Hagari confirmed the deaths of two officers on Thursday, including Lt. Ivri Dickshtein, 21, who was killed in an ambush along with another officer who was seriously wounded. This came a day after six other soldiers were killed. The ambush involved terrorists who survived an initial tank strike on their position.

Following a temporary lull in operations, the IDF has reintegrated the 91st Division into its ongoing offensive. Over the past week, more than 300 airstrikes were conducted, including strikes on Hezbollah’s stronghold in the Dahiyeh area of Beirut. Targets included rocket depots and command centers.

In addition to operations in Lebanon, the IDF carried out several airstrikes in Syria on Thursday, targeting sites associated with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Damascus. The strikes hit the group’s headquarters but were not aimed at specific individuals. Syrian media reported that two residential buildings in the al-Mazzah neighborhood were damaged in the attack.