Israel, Lebanon and Hezbollah
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Lebanon on Sunday said that Israeli overnight airstrikes on its capital, Beirut and places in southern Lebanon killed at least 15 people and wounded another 15. We are now closing the LIVE Blog
By Ahmad Al Kerdi and Alexander Cornwell BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, March 9 (Reuters) - Escalating hostilities have forced nearly 700,000 people to flee their homes in Lebanon, a U.N. agency said on Monday, as the war between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah entered a second week.
As Hezbollah enters a new round of fighting with Israel just 15 months after the last Israel-Hezbollah war ended with a November 2024 U.S.-brokered ceasefire, the Iran-backed militant group and political party is facing increasing grassroots discontent within its base and problems with the Lebanese authorities.
Fresh Israeli strikes hit Beirut's southern suburbs and south Lebanon on Tuesday after the Israeli army warned people to evacuate, with Lebanese authorities saying nearly 760,000 people had been registered as displaced.
The Lebanese parliament has extended its term by two years due to the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, which has pushed the region into an escalating conflict, and Israel stepped up its attacks on Lebanon.
JERUSALEM, March 10 (Reuters) - The Israeli military illegally used white phosphorus munitions over homes in the southern Lebanese town Yohmor on March 3, posing a threat to civilians, Human Rights Watch said in a report on Monday.
Nearly 700,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon after Israel’s bombing campaign against Hezbollah, the United Nations has said.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Monday accused Hezbollah of working to "collapse" the state and expressed Beirut's readiness for "direct negotiations" with Israel, drawing the backing of his Syrian counterpart for his goal of disarming the Iran-backed group.
The office of parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri said 76 lawmakers of the 128-seat body had voted in favour of the extension. The vote came a week after Lebanon was dragged into the regional war by militant group Hezbollah's launch of rockets and drones into Israel, which has responded with heavy bombardment across the country.
It has been just over a week since the new escalation in conflict started on 2 March, when Israeli evacuation warnings to residents of more than 53 villages and densely populated areas in Lebanon and intensified airstrikes forced families across Lebanon to flee within minutes.
Contributing countries to the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, were joined by other member states on Wednesday, to express deep alarm at the escalation of hostilities in Lebanon.