Israel PM orders strikes on Beirut suburbs as Hezbollah conflict escalates

Israel's prime minister has ordered attacks on the southern suburbs of Lebanon's capital, Beirut, as its conflict with the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah escalates.

Benjamin Netanyahu said "terror targets" in the Hezbollah stronghold of Dahieh would be struck in response to its rocket and drone attacks on Israeli civilians and other violations of a ceasefire announced in April that has failed to end the fighting.

Soon afterwards, there were traffic jams on roads out of the suburbs as many families tried to flee to safety.

A senior Lebanese government official said it was relying on US mediation efforts to pressure Israel to end its own violations and prevent further civilian casualties.

On Sunday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio proposed a plan for "gradual de-escalation" to Netanyahu and Lebanon's president, according to an American official.

In a joint statement released on Monday morning, Israel's prime minister and defence minister said they had ordered the Israeli military to carry out strikes on Dahieh "following the Hezbollah terrorist organisation's repeated and ongoing violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon and its attacks against our civilians and cities".

They gave no further details and there were no immediate evacuation orders issued by the Israeli military - a move that usually precedes Israeli aerial attacks.

But families, crammed into cars stuffed with suitcases, blankets and whatever belongings they could carry, streamed out of the suburbs in response, joining thousands fleeing towards the mountains as fears of further violence mounted.

Two parents and their two children were squeezed on to a single scooter. Other vehicles carried several generations packed together, with babies sitting on their parents' laps, clutching small toys as they crawled through the gridlock.

Few drivers wanted to stop and talk, anxious not to hold up the traffic and focused on reaching safety.

But almost everyone who slowed down enough to speak said they were prepared to stand by Hezbollah, while also doing whatever they could to protect their loved ones from the threat of further Israeli attacks.

The Israeli military has struck Beirut twice since the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon came into force on 16 April, most recently on Thursday.

But that is a huge reduction on what went before, with reports that the White House has been pressuring Israel to limit its military action in Beirut to avoid jeopardising efforts to strike a broader deal to end the war between the US, Israel and Iran.

Iran, which has long provided Hezbollah with significant ideological, military and financial backing, has said any agreement must include peace in Lebanon, too.

Lebanon was drawn into the war on 2 March, when Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel in retaliation for an Israeli strike that killed Iran's supreme leader. Israel responded with an air campaign across Lebanon and a ground invasion in the south, which has been escalating in recent weeks, even as the strikes on Beirut became far less frequent.

At least 3,412 people have been killed in Lebanon since the start of the war, according to the country's health ministry. Its figures do not distinguish between combatants and civilians.

Israel says 24 of its soldiers and four Israeli civilians have been killed over the same period on both sides of the border.

With a US-Iran deal still proving elusive, the restraint over action in Beirut appears, for now at least, to have been lifted.

There is also growing concern in Lebanon over the latest advances by Israeli forces occupying a large part of the country's south.

Their capture on Sunday of Beaufort Castle, a 900-year-old fortress, after crossing the Litani river is being viewed as a significant development.

Israeli officials have portrayed the seizure as both a symbolic and strategic victory, arguing that the high ground gives their forces a commanding view across southern Lebanon and into Israel's Galilee region, potentially helping to counter Hezbollah attacks.

Yet despite Israel's gains, Hezbollah continues to launch rockets and drones across the border.

Israeli leaders say the operation is intended to weaken Hezbollah's military capabilities, but the group has so far been able to pull back from advancing troops while maintaining its cross-border fire.

Diplomatic efforts to halt the fighting appear to have made little headway.

A US official said on Sunday that Marco Rubio had spoken with Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, though those discussions seem to have focused on increasing pressure on Hezbollah rather than curbing Israel's military operations.

According to the official, Rubio proposed that, as a first step, Lebanese officials should pressure Hezbollah to stop its attacks on Israel and that, in return, Israel would refrain from escalation in Beirut.

"This would create space for gradual de-escalation and an effective cessation of hostilities," they said.

The official added that Aoun had tried to advance the proposal but that Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who said on Sunday that he could "guarantee" Hezbollah's commitment to a ceasefire, had "placed the burden on Israel to stop shooting first".

A senior Lebanese government official told the BBC on Monday that it was relying on US mediation efforts to pressure Israel to curb its military actions and prevent further civilian casualties in Lebanon.

"We are trying our best, just to stop the killing of people," the official said, describing daily Israeli violations and the difficulty of securing leverage over developments on the ground.

The official also said a round of talks between Lebanon and Israel would still take place in Washington this week.

"We don't have another choice," the official said. "We have to go to the negotiation and put on the table that we want a ceasefire."

Hezbollah may still draw strong support in its strongholds, including southern Beirut, but across the country at large there is growing war fatigue and criticism that the group's decision to launch attacks in support of Iran helped drag the country back into conflict.

At the same time, anger is mounting over Israel's expanding campaign, with daily air strikes, growing territorial gains in the south of Lebanon, large-scale displacement and rising civilian casualties.

Over the weekend, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam accused Israel of escalating the conflict and pursuing a "scorched-earth" policy.

For now, there is little sign of a diplomatic breakthrough.

Many in Lebanon fear that Israel believes it holds the military advantage and intends to press it, with Netanyahu indicating the offensive could widen and deepen in the days ahead.