Israel orders strikes on Beirut suburbs after Hezbollah attacks

The warning triggered an exodus from Dahiyeh, a Hezbollah stronghold, with residents fleeing the area and roads clogged with traffic.

Beirut: Israel on Monday or­dered strikes on Beirut’s sou­thern suburbs after Hezbollah launched rockets and missiles at northern Israel, marking a sharp escalation despite an ongoing ceasefire.

PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military had been instructed to target Beirut’s southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, citing repeated ceasefire violations and attacks on Israeli cities.

The warning triggered an exodus from Dahiyeh, a Hezbollah stronghold, with residents fleeing the area and roads clogged with traffic.

Israeli airstrikes overnight on southern Lebanon killed six people, including a Syrian national, as per Lebanon’s National News Agency. 

The Israeli military said it intercepted two projectiles fired from Lebanon and a suspicious aerial target. No one was injured. Hezbollah said it carried out rocket and miss­ile attacks on northern Israel on Sunday. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned what he described as Israeli aggression and said efforts were on to end the conflict.

HEZBOLLAH BLOCKING TRUCE, says america

The US has accused Hezbollah of undermining efforts to secure a ceasefire with Israel. “To advance those talks, the US proposed a clear sequence: Hezbollah must stop all attacks on Israel. And, Israel would refrain from escalation in Beirut. It would create spa­ce for gradual de-escalation and an effective cessation of ho­stilities,” an official said. 

—AP