Israeli forces intensified airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs and southern Lebanon on Sunday amid ongoing hostilities with Hezbollah, marking the second assault on the Beirut area within a week. The military action came in response to what Israel described as attacks by Hezbollah on northern Israeli communities.
The airstrikes struck the Ghobeiry neighborhood in the Dahiyeh district, a known Hezbollah stronghold, damaging several apartment buildings and causing casualties. Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that three people were killed and six wounded in the strike, while local correspondents described scenes of smoke, debris, and panic near a busy commercial road. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office stated that the military targeted a Hezbollah command center in the area to respond to drone and rocket fire launched into Israel.
Earlier on Sunday, Israeli forces reported that three drones suspected to be operated by Hezbollah had struck northern Israel in separate incidents without causing casualties. Hezbollah claimed attacks on Israeli troops in southern Lebanon but did not assert responsibility for any actions against northern Israel. Since March 2, fighting has escalated following Hezbollah rocket launches aimed at retaliating for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader in combined U.S.-Israeli strikes. This cycle has resulted in more than 3,700 deaths.
Israeli officials have warned that they would target Dahiyeh if Hezbollah continued strikes on Israeli communities, a policy seen as receiving support from Washington. In turn, Iranian officials condemned the strikes on Beirut, with a senior military commander warning that Tehran would respond and labeling the Israeli actions as crimes that will not go unanswered.
In southern Lebanon, Israeli forces conducted multiple strikes across more than 20 locations, including areas around the city of Nabatieh, a significant focus of recent Israeli military activity. Ahead of the strikes, the Israeli army issued evacuation warnings for nearly 30 villages and towns in the region. A Lebanese military source said a small army contingent withdrew from the village of Kfar Tibnit near Nabatieh after Israeli incursions but noted that troops remain stationed in the city itself.
The escalations come amid fragile diplomatic efforts to end the broader regional conflict. The United States and Iran have been engaged in negotiations that reportedly may lead to a ceasefire, but Tehran maintains that a cessation of hostilities in Lebanon must be included in any agreement. Iranian negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf criticized the peace talks after Sunday’s strikes, suggesting they were no longer productive.
Separately, Lebanon’s foreign ministry filed a complaint with the United Nations over Israel’s alleged spraying of the herbicide glyphosate in border areas earlier this year. The ministry cited laboratory tests showing concentrations exceeding typical agricultural use and urged UN authorities to investigate. The UN peacekeeping mission noted that Israel had informed it beforehand about plans to apply a “non-toxic chemical substance” near the border.
Direct peace talks between Israel and Lebanon, which began in April under U.S. mediation, are scheduled to continue later this month, though Hezbollah has rejected these discussions. While Israel demands a ceasefire that requires Hezbollah to halt attacks, the Lebanese militant group insists on conditions that include Israeli troop withdrawal from southern Lebanon.