Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed the Israeli military to bomb the southern suburbs of Beirut, the most serious escalation of Israel’s war in Lebanon since a supposed ceasefire was announced on 17 April. The Israeli prime minister and his defense minister, Israel Katz, said on Monday they had given instructions to strike “terrorist targets” for what they called “repeated and ongoing violations of the ceasefire by Hezbollah.”
Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has not stopped despite the 17 April ceasefire, and Israeli strikes have killed more than 800 people in Lebanon since its announcement. Hezbollah has targeted Israeli troops in southern Lebanon and, in recent days, launched rockets towards northern Israel. The ceasefire was previously understood to exempt Beirut from Israeli strikes, though Israel has struck the southern suburbs twice in what is still a reduction from the daily bombing of the capital before 17 April.
People began to leave the southern suburbs minutes after Netanyahu’s statement, with roads choked with cars. The displacement was a familiar one; residents there have been forced out of their homes several times over the last three months. More than a million people have been displaced because of Israeli bombing in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa valley, as well as the dozens of forced evacuation orders the Israeli military has placed on towns and villages across Lebanon.
On Sunday, the Israeli military captured the medieval Beaufort castle in southern Lebanon, the deepest it has reached since its 18-year occupation of the region ended in 2000. It also bombarded Tyre, leveling entire buildings in some of the most violent airstrikes yet on the southern city. Netanyahu vowed on Sunday to push even further into the country: “Now my directive is to deepen and expand our hold in places that were under Hezbollah’s control.”
Hezbollah remained defiant, announcing operations on Sunday against what it said were Israeli soldiers stationed outside Beaufort castle. Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah blamed the Lebanese government for the escalation, saying it “has proven the failure of the direct negotiation option.” European leaders have condemned Israel’s expansion; French President Emmanuel Macron called for an end to the fighting, and Britain’s Yvette Cooper called for the US-brokered ceasefire to be respected.
The current conflict began in March after Hezbollah fired rockets towards Israel in retaliation for the US-Israeli killing of Iran’s supreme leader. Since then, more than 3,300 people, including children and first responders, have been killed in Lebanon. Hezbollah strikes since 2 March have killed two people in Israel and more than 20 soldiers and one contractor in southern Lebanon. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam accused Israel of “implementing a policy of total destruction of cities and towns.”
Netanyahu called the capture of Beaufort castle a “dramatic shift” in the campaign. The castle, also known as Qalaat al-Shaqif, offers views across Lebanon and into northern Israel and was built as a crusader castle around the 12th century. Some experts have questioned its strategic significance, calling it little more than a public relations coup. Orna Mizrahi, a former deputy director in Israel’s national security council, told the Associated Press: “We are damaging them in the operations, but in parallel we need to pursue a political and diplomatic solution.”
Talks between senior officials from Israel and Lebanon began in April in Washington, the first in more than three decades. Hezbollah is not taking part and says it will not accept any results. Israel’s advance presents a challenge to efforts for a lasting peace agreement between the US and Iran; Tehran insists any deal must include an end to fighting in Lebanon. Observers suggest Israeli officials want to inflict as much damage as possible on Hezbollah before a potential deal imposes new limits.