Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to launch strikes against targets in Beirut’s southern suburbs (Dahiyeh), citing ceasefire violations.
Netanyahu’s order came as both Lebanon and Israel prepare for the next round of direct talks, set for Tuesday in Washington, to discuss the details of a US-brokered peace deal.
Attacks on Beirut’s Dahiyeh
In a joint statement on Monday, Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced they ordered the military to attack Dahiyeh, the stronghold of the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah.
“Following the Hezbollah terrorist organization’s repeated and ongoing violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon and its attacks against our civilians and cities, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz have instructed the (military) to strike terror targets in the Dahiyeh Quarter of Beirut,” the statement said.
Israeli Incursion into Lebanon
Netanyahu said on Sunday that he instructed troops to move deeper into Lebanon, few days after crossing the strategic Litani River, which runs east-west roughly 30 km (19 miles) north of the Israeli border.
“I have instructed the IDF to expand the incursion in Lebanon. Our forces have crossed the Litani River. They took dominant terrain. They captured the Beaufort ridge. And now my instruction is to deepen and expand our hold on places that were under Hezbollah’s control,” the Israeli Prime Minister said in a statement.
Furthermore, Netanyahu announced that Israeli forces captured the 900-year-old Beaufort Castle, also known as Qalaat al-Shaqif, which offers views across Lebanon and into northern Israel and served as a base during Israel’s previous two-decade occupation of southern Lebanon that ended in 2000.
“The capture of Beaufort is a dramatic stage and a dramatic change in the policy we are leading. We have broken the barrier of fear. We are taking the initiative, we are operating on all fronts – in Syria, in Gaza, in Lebanon; we have established security zones beyond our borders to protect our communities,” Netanyahu noted.
The Israeli incursion into Lebanon and the seizure of Beaufort Castle have sparked global condemnation, with France requesting an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council for Monday.
Hezbollah-Israel Conflict
Fighting between Hezbollah and Israel erupted on March 2, 2026, when the Lebanese group decided to join the Iran war in retaliation for the killing of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
In response, Israel launched heavy airstrikes and ground operations into southern Lebanon, seizing control of large swaths of the country.
Despite a ceasefire coming into force on April 17, Hezbollah and Israel have continued to exchange fire, with the Iranian-backed group using cheap, easy-to-assemble kamikaze drones that are hard for air defenses to intercept.
The conflict has so far killed over 3,370 people, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. It has also displaced more than 1.2 million people and is pushing nearly quarter of Lebanon‘s population into acute food insecurity.
Meanwhile, Israel said the conflict has killed 24 of its soldiers and four civilians.
Ceasefire Talks
The US has mediated to end the fighting in Lebanon in parallel to broader diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict with Iran, hosting direct talks between Lebanese and Israeli delegations in Washington.
On Friday, the Pentagon hosted military talks between officials from Lebanon and Israel to launch the security track that supports military-to-military communication and coordination. The US State Department will hold a new round of direct talks between both sides on June 2-3 to advance the political track of the talks.
Meanwhile, Iran has insisted that a ceasefire in Lebanon is a prerequisite for any deal to end the conflict with the US.
“We insist that a ceasefire in Lebanon is an essential condition for any deal aimed at ending the war,” Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmael Baghaei said in a weekly press briefing on Monday.
