Israeli leader who pulled out of Lebanon warns against getting stuck again

A significant story is unfolding on the international scene. Israeli leader who pulled out of Lebanon warns against getting stuck again June 10, 20264:40 AM ET Greg Myre Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak talks with an Israeli soldier who just pulled out of Lebanon on May 24, 2000. Barak met soldiers in the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona, just across the border from Lebanon. The withdrawal ended an 18-year occupation that was a source of major debate in Israel.

Today, Israeli troops are again in southern Lebanon fighting Hezbollah. Israeli Government Press Office via Getty Images/Alfi Ben Yaakov hide caption toggle caption Israeli Government Press Office via Getty Images/Alfi Ben Yaakov TEL AVIV -- As prime minister, Ehud Barak withdrew Israeli troops from Lebanon in 2000, ending a protracted occupation that lasted nearly two decades and was a source of fierce debate inside Israel. In an interview with NPR, Barak said he knew it was the right decision many years earlier when he was still a soldier who had experienced fighting in Lebanon.

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"I'm sometimes asked, 'Why did you pull out the soldiers from the (Lebanon) security zone in 2000? ' I say the right question is not why I did it in 2000, why was it not done 15 years earlier," Barak, now 84, said at his home in a Tel Aviv high-rise with a commanding view of the Mediterranean. Sponsor Message "For me, it was a stretched-out tragedy that had no explanation in a rational way as to why we were there," he said.

Today, a large Israeli military force is once again in southern Lebanon as part of its most expansive operation since the pullout 26 years ago. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israeli troops are there to quell Hezbollah fire on Israeli civilians in northern Israel. "We will not allow fire to be directed at our territory," Netanyahu told his Cabinet this week.

"We are striking them very forcefully, and we know that Hezbollah is in retreat. " The Hezbollah attacks began in early March as a show of support for its patron, Iran, which had just come under a joint attack from the United States and Israel. The wars in Lebanon and Iran are closely linked.

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Iran cited the Israeli attacks in Lebanon as the reason it fired ballistic missiles at Israeli on Sunday and Monday. Israel responded with airstrikes on Iran. All of this is part of increased fighting in recent days despite officially declared ceasefires in both wars.

President Trump has told Netanyahu to stop, or at least scale back attacks in Lebanon, because it's making it harder to reach a deal with Iran. An Israeli airstrike hits the southern Lebanese coastal town of Tyre on Sunday. Israel and Hezbollah continue to exchange fire despite a ceasefire agreement announced last week between the governments of Israel and Lebanon.

Kawnat Haju/ via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Kawnat Haju/ via Getty Images There's no indication of how long the Israelis may stay in Lebanon this time.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.