Families crammed into cars packed with suitcases, blankets, and small children streamed out of Beirut's southern suburbs on Monday after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered strikes on the area. Two parents and their two children squeezed onto a single scooter. Other vehicles carried multiple generations, with babies sitting on laps and clutching small toys as traffic crawled toward the mountains.
Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement that they had ordered the military to carry out strikes on Dahieh, the Hezbollah stronghold in the southern suburbs, according to BBC News. They cited what they described as repeated ceasefire violations by Hezbollah and attacks on Israeli civilians and cities. No evacuation orders had been issued by the Israeli military at the time of the announcement, and the statement gave no further operational details.
No strikes had hit the area immediately after the announcement, but residents did not wait. Almost everyone who slowed down long enough to speak with reporters said they supported Hezbollah while also trying to get their families to safety.
The Israeli military has struck Beirut twice since a ceasefire with Lebanon came into force on April 16. The most recent strike before Monday's announcement came on Thursday. The White House has reportedly been pressuring Israel to limit military action in Beirut, concerned that expanded operations could derail broader diplomatic efforts involving the U.S., Israel, and Iran.
Iran responded to the escalating situation by suspending its peace talks with the United States. Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency, which is close to the country's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said Iran would halt talks and the exchange of texts through a mediator given what it described as the continuation of Israeli military operations in Lebanon. Tasnim said Israel's war with Hezbollah was included in the ceasefire terms and was being violated on all fronts.
Iran has repeatedly stated that Israeli operations in Gaza and Lebanon must cease and that Israeli forces must withdraw from Lebanese territory as part of any agreement with the U.S. Those demands predate Monday's announcement.
The confrontation between the U.S. and Iran has not been limited to diplomacy. CBS News reported that the U.S. military carried out what it described as self-defense strikes on Iranian radar and drone sites in response to what it called aggressive Iranian actions. Iran responded by firing two missiles at American forces in Kuwait. U.S. Central Command said both missiles were intercepted.
President Trump commented on the situation early Monday on his Truth Social account, writing that "Iran really wants to make a deal" and urging critics to "sit back and relax, it will all work out well in the end."
On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio proposed a plan for gradual de-escalation to both Netanyahu and Lebanon's president, according to an American official. A senior Lebanese government official said Lebanon was relying on U.S. mediation to pressure Israel and prevent further civilian casualties.
Iran, which has provided Hezbollah with ideological, military, and financial support for years, has said any agreement must include peace in Lebanon. Lebanon was drawn into the broader war on March 2, when Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel following an Israeli strike that killed Iran's supreme leader.
The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting Monday on the conflict in Lebanon, after Israeli forces seized a medieval castle well north of the Lebanese-Israeli border.
