Israel’s prime minister has ordered attacks on the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, as its conflict with the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah escalates.
Benjamin Netanyahu said “terror targets” in the Hezbollah stronghold of Dahieh would be struck in response to its rocket and drone attacks on Israeli civilians and other violations of a ceasefire announced in April that has failed to end the fighting.
Soon afterwards, there were traffic jams on roads out of the suburbs as many families tried to flee to safety.
A senior Lebanese government official said it was relying on US mediation efforts to pressure Israel to end its own violations and prevent further civilian casualties.
On Sunday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio proposed a plan for “gradual de-escalation” to Netanyahu and Lebanon’s president, according to an American official.
In a joint statement released on Monday morning, the Israeli prime minister and Defence Minister Israel Katz said they had ordered strikes on Dahieh “following the Hezbollah terrorist organisation’s repeated and ongoing violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon and its attacks against our civilians and cities”.
“The Dahieh in Beirut is no different from the communities in northern Israel – if there is no calm in the north, there will be no calm in Beirut,” Katz warned.
Later, the Israeli military ordered Dahieh residents to evacuate for their own safety, without giving further details.
Credit: bbc.com
