Netanyahu Orders IDF to Strike Hezbollah Targets in Beirut Southern Suburbs
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Israel Defense Forces to attack the Dahiyeh district in southern Beirut, citing repeated ceasefire violations by Hezbollah and ongoing drone attacks against Israeli cities.
Netanyahu orders IDF to strike Hezbollah targets in Beirut
On Monday, June 1, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, alongside Defense Minister Israel Katz, instructed the Israel Defense Forces to launch attacks on "terrorist targets" in the Dahiyeh district, a southern suburb of Beirut and a stronghold of the Iran-backed Hezbollah. The order, announced in a joint statement from their offices, cited what they called repeated violations of the existing ceasefire agreement by the militant group.
Following repeated violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon by the terrorist group Hezbollah and the attacks against our cities and citizens, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the IDF to attack terrorist targets in the Dahiyeh district in Beirut.
A fragile truce under strain
A ceasefire brokered in mid‑April was intended to halt hostilities along the Israel‑Lebanon border, but clashes have continued. Hezbollah has increasingly deployed low‑cost, easy‑to‑assemble kamikaze drones that have proven difficult for Israeli air defences to intercept. These drone attacks have killed several Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon and, along with rocket fire, have displaced tens of thousands of residents in northern Israel. The fighting is the broadest regional spillover of the wider Iran war, after Hezbollah opened a front on March 2 by firing rockets and drones into Israel in support of its ally.
- Hezbollah begins firing rockets and drones into Israel in support of Iran.
- Israel and Hezbollah agree to a ceasefire, but hostilities continue.
- Netanyahu orders IDF strikes on the Dahiyeh district in Beirut, citing repeated ceasefire violations.
Mounting human cost
According to the Lebanese government, the incursion has caused more than 3,370 deaths, primarily among Lebanese civilians and combatants. Israel reports that 24 of its soldiers and four civilians have been killed during the same period. The military campaign has also displaced over 1.2 million Lebanese, with Israeli strikes and evacuation orders uprooting entire communities.
- Lebanese deaths (govt. estimate)
- 3370 people
- Israeli soldiers killed
- 24 people
- Israeli civilians killed
- 4 people
Diplomatic tensions and US efforts
The strikes on Beirut mark a significant escalation, directly challenging the position of the Trump administration, which had reportedly urged Israel to avoid attacking the capital during the ceasefire. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held separate discussions with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Netanyahu in an attempt to relaunch diplomacy. A US‑proposed de‑escalation plan called for Hezbollah to halt all attacks on Israel in exchange for Israel refraining from expanding the conflict to Beirut—a framework now under severe strain.
International and local reactions
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun described the Israeli operation as a "brutal aggression" in a statement marking the anniversary of former Prime Minister Rashid Karami’s assassination.
The country is suffering from a brutal Israeli aggression.
He renewed calls to strengthen Lebanon’s state institutions and vowed to continue working to end the suffering of the Lebanese people, especially those in the south. Meanwhile, Israeli troops have made deep advances into Lebanese territory; over the weekend they raised the Israeli flag over the medieval Beaufort castle, a strategic position in the south where Hezbollah maintains much of its arsenal.
