Israel Orders Strikes on Beirut's Southern Suburbs as Hezbollah Rockets Hit the North

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered attacks on the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut on Monday, while Hezbollah fired rockets at northern Israel, including near the coastal city of Haifa. Israeli forces have pushed into southern Lebanon, taking the 900-year-old Beaufort Castle and a strategic ridge.

In Beirut, the orders prompted many residents to leave. Israeli and Lebanese reports described heavy traffic out of the Dahiyeh district, with parents called to collect children from schools, before the Israeli military had issued a formal evacuation notice. Al Jazeera reported that Israeli strikes destroyed a well-known resort and restaurant owned by the Lebanese chef Husen Fayad in the south.

The Lebanese government has increased its contacts with the United States and other governments to strengthen a ceasefire, even as the Israeli campaign expands. Both the strikes and Hezbollah's rocket fire complicate the separate effort to reduce the United States-Iran confrontation, which the two wars increasingly reinforce.