Lebanon and Israel said on Wednesday (Jun 3) that they had agreed to the implementation of a ceasefire following negotiations in Washington aimed at ending the conflict that flared up alongside the war in Iran.

The ceasefire is contingent on a complete cessation of fire from the Iran-aligned Hezbollah militia and the evacuation of all of its operatives from the South Litani Sector, according to a joint statement released with the United States.

“The two sides agreed with the guidance of the United States to swiftly advance the creation of pilot zones in which the Lebanese Armed Forces will take exclusive control of the territory to the exclusion of all non-state actors,” they said.

Israel and Lebanon had previously agreed to a cessation of hostilities in April that was then extended in May, but violence has continued.

Israeli drone strikes killed at least six people in southern Lebanon and targeted a car south of Beirut ​on Wednesday, Lebanese security sources said. Israel said it intercepted a hostile aircraft likely fired by Hezbollah.

A US-mediated agreement announced on Monday had led Israel to step back from attacking the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut, and the Iran-backed group to halt cross-border strikes.

Israel invaded Lebanon in March in pursuit of Hezbollah which fired across the border in support of Tehran.

Iran has said it will not agree to a deal to end the conflict launched by the United States and Israel in late February unless the ceasefire also extends to Lebanon.

Lebanon and Israel on Wednesday agreed to further direct negotiations to build confidence and resolve other outstanding issues.

The pair will reconvene to hold political and security-related talks during the week of Jun 22 with a view towards a comprehensive agreement, according to the statement. (CNA)

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Since the start of the conflict, the number of attacks on healthcare in Lebanon has climbed to 149, leaving 100 dead and 233 injured, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). 

UN officials stressed that attacks on civilians, health workers, and infrastructure are “unacceptable” and violate international humanitarian law. 

“All parties in this conflict have to observe their obligations under these laws,” United Nations spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said at Wednesday’s briefing.

He further said that the alarming toll underscores the grave risks faced by civilians, emergency responders, and humanitarian workers amid escalating violence.

On Tuesday, three civil defence rescue workers were killed in Tyre District when two strikes hit a building they had entered to assist victims of an earlier attack. The incident highlights the vulnerability of first responders, who continue to operate under life-threatening conditions.

Israeli authorities today issued a new displacement order south of the Litani River, covering 16 areas and directing residents to relocate to Saida. Women and children remain disproportionately affected, with reports of mounting psychological distress, family separation, and heightened risks of gender-based violence in overcrowded shelters, he said. 

Stéphane Dujarric went on to note that humanitarian agencies warn that the crisis is deepening.

He revealed that the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have stated that the sharp escalation in violence has reversed recent food security gains. 

The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) projects that 1.24 million people, nearly one in four assessed, will face Crisis-level hunger (IPC Phase 3 or worse) between April and August 2026. IPC Phase 3 indicates households resorting to skipping meals or selling possessions to afford food.

Noting that despite urgent needs, the humanitarian response remains severely underfunded, he said that the Lebanon Flash Appeal has received just over $117 million, only 38 per cent of the required $308 million. (Newswire)

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Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend their ceasefire by three weeks following a meeting in the White House with top U.S. officials, President Donald Trump said Thursday.

“The Meeting went very well!” Trump said in a Truth Social post announcing the extension of the temporary truce.

“The United States is going to work with Lebanon in order to help it protect itself from Hezbollah,” Trump wrote, referring to the Iran-backed militia group.

“The Ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon will be extended by THREE WEEKS,” he wrote.

The agreement provides breathing room for Israel and Lebanon to continue diplomacy by pushing off the looming expiration of an initial, 10-day ceasefire brokered last week.

Trump’s post on Thursday afternoon said that “High Ranking Representatives” of the two countries met with him, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa in the Oval Office. (CNBC)

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United States President Donald Trump says the leaders of Israel and Lebanon will speak for the first time in 34 years on Thursday.

The announcement on Wednesday came a day after Israel and Lebanon’s envoys to the US held rare, direct talks in Washington, DC, to discuss an end to the Israeli attacks on its neighbour.

“Trying to get a little breathing room between Israel and Lebanon,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

“It has been a long time since the two leaders have spoken, like 34 years. It will happen tomorrow. Nice!”

The US president did not specify who would be involved in the talks.

Lebanon was drawn into the US and Israel’s war on Iran on March 2 after Tehran-aligned Hezbollah resumed attacks on Israel.

Hezbollah said the attacks were in retaliation for Israel’s killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the first day of the war, on February 28, as well as Israel’s near-daily violations of a ceasefire it agreed to in Lebanon in November 2024.

Since then, Israeli attacks have killed more than 2,000 people in Lebanon and displaced more than 1.2 million others. The Israeli military has also launched a ground invasion in southern Lebanon, seeking to seize more territory and create what it calls a “buffer zone”.

Earlier on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he has ordered the military to expand the invasion in southern Lebanon, towards the east. He said that Israel was pursuing negotiations with the Lebanese government alongside its military campaign against Hezbollah in the hopes of disarming the group and achieving a “sustainable peace” with its northern neighbour.

The Lebanese government, which is not a party to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, is seeking a ceasefire and a withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon.

Al Jazeera’s Malcom Webb, reporting from the Lebanese capital, Beirut, said the Israeli military launched its invasion with the aim of occupying the entire territory from Lebanon’s southern border with Israel to the Litani river, about 30 kilometers to the north.

“But it hasn’t succeeded in doing that. It’s met resistance for the last six weeks from Hezbollah. Since then it talked about an 8 or a 10 kilometer buffer zone,” Webb said. “A lot of the fighting in recent days has been in towns and villages close to the border.”

And even if a ceasefire were to happen in the coming days, “there are still major questions for the 1.2 million people in Lebanon who’ve been forced from their homes by Israel’s Invasion, evacuation orders and air strikes, and if, or when they get to go home,” Webb said.

These include the hundreds of thousands of people from the villages and towns in southern Lebanon, which are now occupied by Israeli forces. “In some villages along the border, many homes have been blown up, while others across all of the south and in Beirut’s southern suburbs have been destroyed by Israel’s air strikes as well,” he added. (Al Jazeera)

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has announced that Israel backs the United States’s decision to suspend strikes against Iran for two weeks, but said the truce will not apply to Lebanon.

In a statement on X on Wednesday, Netanyahu said that Israel supported US President Donald Trump’s efforts to ensure “Iran no longer poses a nuclear, missile and terror threat to America, Israel, Iran’s Arab neighbours and the world”.

He said the US has told Israel that it is committed to achieving these goals in the upcoming negotiations in Pakistan on Friday.

But the two-week ceasefire “does not include Lebanon”, he added.

Netanyahu’s statement comes after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced that the US, Iran and their allies “have agreed to an immediate ceasefire everywhere, including Lebanon and elsewhere”.

Sharif said the move was “effective immediately”.

Lebanon was drawn into the US and Israel’s war on Iran on March 2 after Tehran-aligned Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel.

Hezbollah said the attacks were in retaliation for Israel’s killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the first day of the war on February 28, as well as its near-daily violations of a ceasefire it agreed to in Lebanon in November 2024.

The earlier truce was agreed after more than a year of cross-border fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah following Israel’s launch of its genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023.

According to Lebanese authorities, Israeli attacks on Lebanon since March 2 have killed more than 1,500 people and displaced more than 1 million people. 

The Israeli military has also launched an invasion of southern Lebanon and said it aims to seize more territory for what it calls a buffer zone.

There’s been no immediate comment from Hezbollah or Lebanon on Netanyahu’s announcement. (Al Jazeera)

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The Spanish Government has expressed strong condemnation of statements by Israeli authorities claiming that the Israeli army has been ordered to destroy all bridges over the Litani River, as well as the homes of Lebanese civilians in neighbouring villages.

Issuing a statement, Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the move constitutes a flagrant and premeditated violation of international humanitarian law.

Civilian infrastructure, including homes and healthcare facilities, can never, under international law, be considered military targets. Such actions violate the most basic principles of international humanitarian law, destroying the lives of innocent civilians, it said. 

The Ministry further said that Spain categorically reiterates its condemnation of any attempt to isolate and divide Lebanese territory, and urges respect for Lebanon’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

The Spanish Government further called on the international community to act to prevent impunity for these actions and to strengthen its support for the Lebanese Government’s efforts to consolidate sovereignty and territorial integrity under its authority. (Newswire)

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Sri Lankan migrant workers in Lebanon, many employed as domestic helpers under strict conditions, have used their only day off to prepare and distribute food to families displaced into tents and the streets.

According to reports, despite earning modest wages and living within employer households, the workers pooled small savings from their salaries to buy rice, cheese, onions, and water. 

They cooked meals together before distributing them across Beirut to those affected by Israeli occupation attacks.

“This could be us,” one worker explained in a video message, highlighting why they chose to help despite their own hardships.

Sri Lanka is among the main source countries for migrant domestic labour in Lebanon, and the workers’ initiative has drawn attention for its compassion and solidarity with Lebanese families forced from their homes. (Newswire)

Sri Lankan migrant workers in Lebanon spend their only day off feeding displaced families

Sri Lankan migrant workers in Lebanon, many working long hours as domestic helpers under strict conditions, used their only day off to prepare and distribute food to families displaced… pic.twitter.com/enzcCyyyt3

— Translating Falasteen (Palestine) (@translatingpal) March 18, 2026

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Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused the Israeli military of unlawfully deploying artillery‑fired white phosphorus munitions over residential areas in southern Lebanon, raising grave concerns about civilian safety. 

In a statement, the rights group said it verified and geolocated images showing airburst white phosphorus over homes in the town of Yohmor on March 3, with civil defence teams battling fires in houses and vehicles.

Calling the use of such incendiary weapons “extremely alarming,” HRW warned that the practice violates international humanitarian law and risks causing severe, lifelong injuries to civilians.

Full statement: 

Human Rights Watch says the Israeli military unlawfully used artillery-fired white phosphorus munitions over homes on Tuesday (03), in the southern Lebanese town of Yohmor. 

Human Rights Watch verified and geolocated seven images showing airburst white phosphorus munitions being deployed over a residential part of the town and civil defence workers responding to fires in at least two homes and one car in that area. 

“The Israeli military’s unlawful use of white phosphorus over residential areas is extremely alarming and will have dire consequences for civilians,” said Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The incendiary effects of white phosphorous can cause death or cruel injuries that result in lifelong suffering.” 

White phosphorus is a chemical substance dispersed in artillery shells, bombs, and rockets that ignites when exposed to oxygen. It can set homes, agricultural areas, and other civilian objects on fire. Under international humanitarian law, the use of airburst white phosphorus is unlawfully indiscriminate in populated areas and does not meet the legal requirement to take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian harm.

Human Rights Watch verified and geolocated an image posted on social media the morning of March 3, showing at least two artillery-delivered white phosphorus munitions being airburst over a residential neighbourhood in the town of Yohmor in southern Lebanon. Human Rights Watch identified the shape of the smoke cloud caused by the airbursts in the picture as entirely consistent with the “knuckle” made by the expelling and bursting charges of the M825-series 155mm artillery projectile that contains white phosphorous. 

Earlier that day, at 5:27 a.m, Avichay Adraee, Israel’s Arabic military spokesperson, issued an order stating that residents of Yohmor and 50 other villages and towns “should immediately evacuate [their homes] and move away from the villages to a distance of at least 1,000 meters outside the village to open land.” Adraee repeated the statement at 12:12 p.m. that day. Human Rights Watch has not verified whether people were in the area or injured as a result of white phosphorus use.

Human Rights Watch has previously documented the Israeli military’s widespread use of white phosphorus between October 2023 and May 2024 across border villages in southern Lebanon, which put civilians at grave risk and contributed to civilian displacement.

White phosphorus can be used for multiple purposes, including to obscure, mark, signal, or directly attack military personnel and materiel. Concerns over its use in populated areas are amplified by the technique shown in videos of air-bursting white phosphorus projectiles, which spread 116 burning felt wedges impregnated with the substance over an area between 125 and 250 meters in diameter, depending on the altitude and angle of the burst, indiscriminately exposing more civilians and civilian structures to potential harm than a localized ground burst.

Human Rights Watch also verified and geolocated photographs posted to Facebook at 11:34 a.m. and 1:36 p.m. by the Civil Defence Team of the Islamic Health Committee in Yohmor, which is affiliated with the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah. The photographs show workers extinguishing fires on residential rooftops and in a car, and smoke emerging from the balconies of a home, which the Civil Defence Team attributed to white phosphorous. The geolocated sites were inside a radius of less than 160 meters.

Human Rights Watch analysis indicates the fire was likely caused by felt wedges impregnated with white phosphorus, given the proximity of the house and the car to the area where airburst munitions were observed, indicating that the munitions were used unlawfully over concentrations of civilians. 

Since the recent escalation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah on March 2, at least 217 people have been killed in Lebanon as of March 6, according to the health ministry, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced. 

The Israeli military has issued displacement orders for the entire population of Lebanon south of the Litani River and all residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs, which include hundreds of thousands of people. The sweeping nature of the Israeli military’s displacement orders raises concerns that their primary purpose is not to protect civilians but to instead spread terror and panic, especially in the context of recent large-scale displacement of civilians in Lebanon, raising serious risks of the war crime of forced displacement, Human Rights Watch said. 

Israel should prohibit all use of airburst artillery-delivered white phosphorus munitions in populated areas because it puts civilians at risk of indiscriminate attacks. There are available alternatives to white phosphorus in smoke shells, including some produced by Israeli companies such as the M150 smoke projectile, which the Israeli army has used in the past as an obscurant, a means of hindering the visibility of its forces. These alternatives can have the same effect and dramatically reduce the harm to civilians.

Human Rights Watch has urged Israel’s key allies, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany, to suspend military assistance and arms sales to Israel and impose targeted sanctions on officials credibly implicated in grave crimes. Lebanon’s judicial authorities should initiate domestic investigations of serious international crimes, and the government should accede to the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) Rome Statute and submit a declaration accepting the court’s jurisdiction prior to the date of accession, including since at least October 7, 2023.

Israel’s widespread use of white phosphorus in southern Lebanon highlights the need for stronger international law on incendiary weapons, Human Rights Watch said. Protocol III of the Convention on Conventional Weapons is the only legally binding instrument dedicated specifically to incendiary weapons. Lebanon is party to Protocol III, while Israel is not.

Protocol III applies to weapons that are “primarily designed” to set fires or cause burns, and thus excludes certain multipurpose munitions with incendiary effects, notably those containing white phosphorus. In addition, it has weaker regulations for the use in “concentrations of civilians” of ground-launched incendiary weapons—like the ones used in Lebanon—than airdropped incendiary weapons, even though they produce the same horrific injuries.

“Concentrations of civilians” is defined broadly to encompass populated areas ranging from villages to refugee camps to cities. Human Rights Watch and many countries have long called for closing these loopholes in Protocol III and creating international norms that better protect civilians from the harm caused by incendiary weapons.

“Israel should immediately halt this practice and states providing Israel with weapons, including white phosphorus munitions, should immediately suspend military assistance and arms sales and push Israel to stop firing such munitions in residential areas,” Kaiss said. (Newswire)

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Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday he told the military to take control of more positions in Lebanon after an attack from Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah.

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have authorised the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) to advance and take control of additional strategic positions in Lebanon in order to prevent attacks on Israeli border communities,” Katz said in a statement.

Hezbollah joined Iran in an attack on Israel after Israel and the United States went to war against the Islamic Republic.

The IDF said Tuesday that ground forces have launched what it described as “forward defensive operations” in southern Lebanon, taking control of several positions just across the border as part of a broader effort to protect northern Israeli communities amid the war with Iran.

In a statement, the military said troops from the 91st Division are operating south of the Litani River under a strategy it called “deepening forward defense,” aimed at creating an additional security buffer for residents of northern Israel.

The IDF added that it is carrying out extensive strikes on infrastructure linked to the Iran-backed group Hezbollah “to thwart threats and prevent infiltration attempts” into Israeli territory.

“Hezbollah chose to enter the campaign on behalf of Iran and will bear the consequences of its actions. The IDF will not allow harm to the civilians of the State of Israel and will continue to act in every way to protect them,” the military said.

The escalation along Israel’s northern border comes amid a rapid expansion of the broader conflict that began with Israeli-U.S. airstrikes on Iran last weekend. (France 24/ Foreign media)

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The Sri Lankan Embassy in Lebanon has requested Sri Lankan nationals in the country to exercise caution and remain vigilant due to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran.

Issuing a statement, the Sri Lankan Embassy in Lebanon issued guidelines to be adhered to by Sri Lankans residing in Lebanon due to the current situation. 

As such, Sri Lankans have been requested to avoid crowded places and events, and travel during the night. 

Sri Lankans have been requested to keep a copy of their Lebanese identity card or passport with them when moving outdoors.

The Sri Lankan Embassy in Lebanon has also issued a list of telephone numbers for Sri Lankans to contact during an emergency. 

The warning comes as Lebanon has found itself entangled in the latest flare-up between Israel and Iran, as its skies are being used for Iranian missiles and drones, and Israeli interceptor rockets. 

International media reports that Lebanon’s skies have become a corridor for conflict in the intensifying Israeli-Iranian standoff, sparking growing fears among Lebanese officials and analysts who warn the country is losing control over its airspace. (Newswire)

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The International Organization for Migration (IOM) – UN Migration, has facilitated the safe and voluntary repatriation of 53 Sri Lankan migrant workers from Lebanon, pursuant to an official request made by the Government of Sri Lanka due to the ongoing conflict in the region. 

Issuing a statement, the IOM said four groups of stranded migrants in extremely vulnerable situations were repatriated on 6, 12, and 28 November and most recently 04 December 2024.

The IOM further said that the repatriations were conducted in close coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment, and Tourism Sri Lanka, the Sri Lankan Embassy in Lebanon, and IOM Lebanon.

IOM said its missions in Sri Lanka and Lebanon worked closely to provide comprehensive assistance to the migrants. This included conducting vulnerability screenings, consular assistance and documentation support, organizing travel, offering pre-departure counselling, conducting pre-departure medical evaluations and managing logistics related to voluntary repatriation. Urgent medical needs were also addressed upon migrants’ return to Sri Lanka.

Remarking on the repatriation effort, Ms. Kristin Parco, Chief of Mission for IOM Sri Lanka stated, “The successful repatriation of stranded Sri Lankan migrants from Lebanon highlights the power of coordinated action. IOM Sri Lanka extends its sincere appreciation to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,Foreign Employment, and Tourism, the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment, the Embassy of Sri

Lanka in Lebanon, and IOM Lebanon for the swift and effective efforts.” She further commended the unwavering commitment of the Sri Lankan Embassy in Lebanon in advocating for the well-being of stranded Sri Lankans, ensuring that their needs were prioritized and addressed amidst volatile circumstances.

An estimated 7,600 Sri Lankan migrant workers are currently in Lebanon. These repatriations mark a significant milestone in the ongoing efforts to support and protect Sri Lankan nationals overseas, particularly those impacted by conflicts and crises. IOM said it remains resolute in its commitment to facilitating humanitarian returns and upholding the rights and welfare of all migrants. (Newswire)

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The Sri Lankan Embassy in Lebanon has made necessary arrangements to evacuate 55 vulnerable Sri Lankan workers from Lebanon on a group basis, due to the conflict with Israel.  

Issuing a statement, the Sri Lankan Embassy said the evacuation is being carried out in association with the International Organization of Migration (IOM).

Accordingly, the latest group of 26 Sri Lankans were repatriated to Colombo last evening (04 Dec).

Appreciating the assistance of the IOM in Lebanon, the Sri Lankan Embassy expressed hope in working together to continue to facilitate the most needy Sri Lankans despite the tense situation in Lebanon. 

Israel threatened on Tuesday to return to war in Lebanon if its truce with Hezbollah collapses — and said this time its attacks would go deeper and target the Lebanese state itself, after the deadliest day since the ceasefire was reached last week.

In its strongest threat since the truce was reached to end 14 months of war with Hezbollah, Israel said it would hold Lebanon responsible for failing to disarm militants who violated the truce.

Despite last week’s truce, Israeli forces have continued strikes in southern Lebanon against what they say are Hezbollah fighters ignoring the agreement to halt attacks and withdraw north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometres from the Israeli-Lebanese border. (Newswire)

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Sri Lanka has welcomed the announcement of the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.

“We remain hopeful that the ceasefire will pave the way for enduring peace and stability in Lebanon and the region” Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

A ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah took effect after 14 months of cross-border fighting that has killed thousands of people.

The ceasefire came into effect on Wednesday after Israel and Lebanon accepted a US-backed proposal to end the border conflict that spiralled into an all-out war in September.  

Israel will “gradually withdraw” its forces from southern Lebanon over the next 60 days under the deal, with the Lebanese army joining United Nations peacekeepers in the territory.

The deal has been greeted with relief in Lebanon, where thousands of people were making their way home to the south, defying a warning from the Israeli military to stay away from previously evacuated areas. (Newswire)

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Two Sri Lankan UN peacekeepers in Lebanon have sustained minor injuries after a nearby village was targeted by an Israeli airstrike, the Sri Lanka Military said. 

Army Spokesman Major General Rasika Kumara told Newswire that the two Sri Lankan Soldiers had been at a United Nations Base in Naqoura village, at the time of the incident.

He said the airstrikes had struck the village close to the base during which shrapnel had hit the two Sri Lankan Soldiers who were taking cover in a nearby bunker.

Stating that the soldiers had sustained minor injuries, the Army Spokesman said that they were being treated at the hospital in the UN base. 

Meanwhile, issuing a statement on the attack, the United Nations Office said the UN Interim Force in Lebanon’s (UNFIL) Naqoura headquarters and nearby positions were repeatedly hit.

“This morning, two peacekeepers were injured after an IDF Merkava tank fired its weapon toward an observation tower at UNIFIL’s headquarters in Naqoura, directly hitting it and causing them to fall. The injuries are fortunately, this time, not serious, but they remain in hospital,” the UN mission statement said.

UN peacekeepers are present in south Lebanon to support a return to stability under a 2006 Security Council mandate. Any deliberate attack on peacekeepers is a grave violation of international humanitarian law and of Security Council resolution 1701, according to UNIFIL. (Newswire)

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Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry says measures are being carried out to provide the necessary assistance to Sri Lankans residing in Lebanon, in the face of the security situation in the country, which it said was volatile and constantly evolving. 

Issuing a statement, the Foreign Ministry said the Sri Lanka Embassy in Beirut is maintaining constant contact with Sri Lankan Associations and individual Sri Lankans registered with the Embassy. 

Ambassador Kapila Jayaweera and officers of the Sri Lanka Embassy are providing assistance to Sri Lankans as required. 

Apart from a few Sri Lankans who have been stranded and for whom the Embassy has arranged shelter, no Sri Lankans have been seriously affected by the situation so far, the ministry added. 

The measures come after the Israeli military launched a ground invasion in southern Lebanon recently. (Newswire)

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Over the last 24 hours, Israel has unleashed a series of air strikes across Lebanon.

Hundreds of Lebanese people are dead, many are wounded and thousands are displaced as they scramble to try to figure out safe areas to get their families to.

Calling this part of its “new phase” of the war on Gaza, the Israeli army said it struck more than 1,000 targets in Lebanon – claiming they were Hezbollah strongholds or military facilities placed in people’s homes.

What happened and when?

Israel has just killed at least 558 Lebanese people.

Among the dead are 50 children and 94 women, while about 2,000 people were wounded, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said.

More than 10,000 people have been forced from their homes in the most ferocious onslaught Lebanon has experienced since its civil war of 1975-1990.

The first Israeli strikes on Lebanon were reported on Monday at 6:30am, hitting an uninhabited area near Byblos, north of Beirut.

More than 1,300 strikes on what Israel claimed were Hezbollah military targets followed. The attacks are ongoing.

Where in Lebanon is Israel attacking?

Satellite mapping of the strikes by Al Jazeera shows attacks across Lebanon, with the highest concentration in the south and the Bekaa Valley, where Hezbollah’s influence is considered strongest.

Before the attacks, some 80,000 phone calls from the Israeli army to Lebanese people – predominantly in the south – were reported, urging them to evacuate their homes and find “safety”.

The result was panic, chaos and bottlenecks, with the main coastal road to the capital, Beirut, gridlocked for several kilometres as residents tried to flee an impending attack.

Why is Israel attacking Lebanon?

Israel says it is attacking Hezbollah so it can return its displaced citizens to the north.

On Wednesday, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant announced the redeployment of “forces, resources and energy” towards the north and Hezbollah as the war entered a “new phase”, seeming to imply the war on Gaza was winding down.

According to Gallant, this was part of a bid to return the 65,000 Israelis he had ordered evacuated in the early days of the conflict in anticipation of Hezbollah attacks on their homes near Lebanon’s border.

That big Hezbollah attack never happened but Israel and Hezbollah have been maintaining a steady exchange of fire over Lebanon’s southern border since October 2023.

Hezbollah has promised to keep up its attacks until Israel reaches a ceasefire agreement with the group’s ally Hamas in Gaza.

In a news conference on Monday night, Israel’s military spokesperson did not rule out a land invasion of Lebanon, saying: “We will do whatever is necessary to bring back home all our citizens to the northern border safely.”

Is this related to last week’s pager attacks?

It appears so.

On September 17, a day before Gallant’s “new phase” announcement, hundreds of pagers belonging to Hezbollah members were detonated in an attack widely believed to have been undertaken by Israel.

Israel did not comment.

The following day, another attack hit Hezbollah’s walkie-talkie radios. The two attacks killed 37 people, including two children, and wounded and maimed thousands more.

The attacks compromised the group’s communications and, according to analysts, undermined its morale.

Exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah have escalated since, with a devastating Israeli strike in southern Beirut on Saturday killing 45 people and wounding many more. (Al Jazeera)

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The Sri Lankan Embassy in Lebanon has introduced helplines for Sri Lankan citizens residing in the country who are in distress due to the escalating conflict with Israel.

The hotlines have been introduced after Israeli air raids hitting mostly southern and eastern Lebanon killed at least 492 people and wounded at least 1,645.

According to the country’s health ministry, the attack is the deadliest day of conflict in Lebanon since its 1975-90 civil war.

Amidst the crisis, the Sri Lankan Embassy in Lebanon urged its citizens to contact the following hotlines for assistance. 

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Israeli air raids hitting mostly southern and eastern Lebanon have killed at least 492 people and wounded at least 1,645, according to the country’s health ministry, in the deadliest day of conflict in Lebanon since its 1975-90 civil war.

The ministry said the death toll on Monday included at least 35 children, 58 women and two medics as the bombardments hit homes, medical centres, ambulances and cars of people trying to flee.

Tens of thousands of Lebanese fled the south, and the main highway out of the southern port city of Sidon was jammed with cars heading towards Beirut in the biggest exodus since the 2006 fighting.

The government ordered schools and universities to close across most of the country and began preparing shelters for people displaced from the south.

Some attacks hit residential areas of towns in the south and the Bekaa Valley in the east. One strike hit a wooded area as far away as Byblos in central Lebanon, more than 129km (80 miles) from the border and north of Beirut.

The Israeli military also said it conducted a “targeted strike” in Beirut, without offering immediate details.

Israeli media reported that the target of the strike was senior military commander Ali Karaki, the head of the southern front, but Hezbollah said he was in good health and a safe location.

The Israeli army said it had struck more than 1,300 sites used by the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah. The increased hostilities raise further fears of an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah or even a wider regional conflagration.

Israel’s military warned people in Lebanon to move away from places used by Hezbollah, which launched a barrage of rockets into northern Israel on Sunday.

The warnings ignored the possibility that some residents could live in or near targeted structures without knowing they are at risk.

On Monday evening, the Israeli government announced a nationwide state of emergency until September 30.

The Israeli media outlet Haaretz said that under the declaration, the army is granted powers to issue instructions to the Israeli public, allowing it to ban gatherings, limit studies, and issue “additional instructions required to save lives”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday after the strikes that Israel faced “complicated days” and called on Israelis to stay united as the campaign unfolded.

“I promised that we would change the security balance, the balance of power in the north. That is exactly what we are doing,” he said in a message issued after a situational assessment at military headquarters in Tel Aviv. (Al Jazeera)

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Israeli air raids on southern Lebanon have killed at least 100 people and wounded more than 400, according to Lebanese health officials.

The Israeli army said on Monday that it had launched more than 300 air raids at sites used by the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah. The increased hostilities raise further fears of an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah or even a wider regional conflagration.

Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said in a statement cited by state media that children, women and medics were among the victims of the air attacks.

The announcement came hours after Israel’s military had warned civilians to move away from places it claimed were being used by Hezbollah, which launched a barrage of rockets into northern Israel the previous day.

The intensification of the fighting across the shared border, which has seen low-level skirmishes since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October, follows last week’s explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies which killed dozens in Lebanon.

In the early hours of Monday, Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari said its forces conducted “extensive strikes” against Hezbollah posts after identifying attempts to fire rockets. Israel’s government recently declared that it was shifting more focus to the fighting with Hezbollah in a bid to allow the 60,000 or so Israelis evacuated from the border areas to return.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant called on the public to remain calm as the military broadened its assault.

“We are deepening our attacks in Lebanon, the actions will continue until we achieve our goal to return the northern residents safely to their homes,” Gallant said in a video published by his office on Monday. “These are days in which the Israeli public will have to show composure.” (Al Jazeera)

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The Sri Lankan Mission in Lebanon has issued a safety warning to Sri Lankans residing in the country, amidst the emergency that has arisen after thousands of blasts hit Hezbollah militants’ pagers and walkie-talkies this week.

Lebanon is reeling after several blasts hit Hezbollah’s pagers and walkie-talkies this week, killing dozens and wounding thousands.

Issuing a statement, the Sri Lankan Mission in Lebanon warned its citizens to temporarily refrain from visiting crowded places, public events, and long-distance tours.

The Sri Lankan Mission has also warned Sri Lankans to avoid using communication-related equipment during this period.

The Sri Lankan Embassy in Lebanon has also introduced several emergency hotlines to assist Sri Lankans in distress. (Newswire)

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