Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday ordered military strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, targeting Dahiyeh, a densely populated district that has long served as Hezbollah’s political and operational heartland in Lebanon ‘s capital.
The order came after what Israeli officials described as repeated violations of a ceasefire agreement by the militant group.
“Following repeated violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon by the terrorist group Hezbollah and the attacks against our cities and citizens, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz ordered the IDF to attack terrorist targets in the Dahiyeh district in Beirut,” a statement from Netanyahu’s office said.
A Ceasefire That Never Held
The strikes mark a significant escalation in a conflict that had nominally been paused under a mid-April ceasefire agreement.
Since that truce, however, Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters have continued to exchange fire across the border.
Hezbollah has increasingly relied on cheap, easy-to-assemble kamikaze drones which are slow-moving but difficult for conventional air defence systems to intercept, hence, used to strike Israeli positions in southern Lebanon, killing several soldiers in recent weeks.
The attacks have put mounting pressure on the Netanyahu government to respond more forcefully, culminating in Monday’s decision to bring the fight back to Beirut’s southern suburbs for the first time since the ceasefire was brokered.
A War That Has Already Reshaped Lebanon
The broader conflict, which spilled over when Hezbollah began firing rockets and drones into Israel on March 2 in solidarity with its ally Iran, has exacted a devastating toll on Lebanon.
More than 1.2 million Lebanese have been displaced by Israeli strikes and evacuation orders. The Lebanese government puts the death toll from the incursion at over 3,370 people.
Israel says 24 of its soldiers and four civilians have been killed over the same period.
Tens of thousands of Israelis in the country’s north have also been forced from their homes by Hezbollah rocket and drone fire, underscoring that the human cost on both sides continues to mount with no clear end in sight.
Monday’s strikes on Dahiyeh signal that despite diplomatic efforts to contain the fighting, the war is far from over. And its most destructive chapters may still lie ahead.
(with input from Reuters)
