Netanyahu orders strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, clouding Iran mediation

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ⁠ordered attacks on the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut on Monday, signalling further escalation of a war that has complicated mediation towards resolving the US-Iran conflict.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, said on Monday that Israeli attacks in Lebanon were among factors causing a delay to the diplomatic process to end the US-Iran war, reiterating that a Lebanon ceasefire was an integral part of any deal.

Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz ordered the Israeli military ‌to attack “terrorist targets” in the southern suburbs of Beirut, known as Dahiyeh, following Hezbollah’s “repeated violations” of a ceasefire and “attacks against our cities and citizens”, a statement from Netanyahu’s office said.

Having pounded Dahiyeh in the early weeks of the war, Israel has carried out only two strikes on the area since US President Donald Trump announced a Lebanon ceasefire on April 16, even as hostilities have raged in southern Lebanon.

The order follows an intensification of hostilities in the south over the weekend, with Israeli troops capturing the 900-year-old Beaufort Castle and Netanyahu ordering the military to expand ground operations.

It was the first time Israel had held ⁠the site since May 2000, when Israel withdrew its troops from southern Lebanon after 18 years.