Israel Intensifies Strikes on Lebanon, Hits Beirut Amid Ceasefire Violations Dispute

On 28 May 2026, Israel launched intensified strikes across southern Lebanon and the capital Beirut, marking a significant escalation in hostilities that have persisted despite a ceasefire agreement that came into force on 17 April 2026 and has been extended twice since. Israeli forces carried out waves of strikes on southern Lebanon, including the cities of Tyre and areas to its east, targeting what the Israeli military described as Hezbollah infrastructure. The strike on Beirut, conducted at approximately 14:00 local time, was characterized by the Israel Defense Forces as carried out in a 'targeted manner' and represented only the second Israeli strike on the Lebanese capital since the ceasefire took effect.

At least 11 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Tyre and areas to its east on Thursday, according to the Lebanese health ministry. Social media videos from Tyre showed streets lit by flames, smoke-filled roads, and vehicles engulfed in fire following the strikes. Damage in Tyre included destroyed or damaged homes, businesses, vehicles, heritage sites, shattered glass and debris on streets, and disruptions to electricity and medical services. Rescue and recovery crews in Tyre were forced to stop work due to dangerous conditions, and the Israeli military warned rescue workers to evacuate the area.

On Wednesday, the IDF issued an evacuation order urging residents to move north of the Zahrani River, approximately 40 kilometers from the Israeli border, stating it would act 'with extreme force' in the area. The evacuation order covered approximately 300 towns and villages — about 14% of Lebanese territory — making it the largest such order since the ceasefire took effect. Israel expanded its ground operations past a security zone in southern Lebanon, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announcing the expansion and citing Hezbollah drone attacks on Israeli troops in southern Lebanon and on civilians in northern Israel as justification.

Hezbollah continued firing rockets and drones in response to Israeli strikes, and verified videos showed Israeli strikes on densely populated neighborhoods in southern Lebanon. Israel has stated it reserves the right to continue fighting the threat from Hezbollah, while Iran has insisted that any deal must also cover Lebanon.

The April 2026 ceasefire followed months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militant group designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and European Union. Hezbollah operates along Israel's northern border and maintains a stronghold in southern Beirut. The current escalation represents a breakdown in the fragile truce that was intended to halt hostilities between the two sides.

The strike on Beirut targeted Dahieh, Hezbollah's stronghold in southern Beirut, where thick smoke was seen billowing over residential buildings. Israeli media, citing unnamed sources, reported the target was Ali al-Husni, head of the missile force in the Imam Hossein Division, an Iranian militia allied to Hezbollah. A resident reported that a three-month-old baby died following the strike. The decision to strike Beirut came after Israel had previously spared the capital from strikes at the request of the United States, according to one center outlet.

In Tyre, a massive fireball was filmed erupting near a cluster of high-rise residential buildings. The Israeli military stated it has hit hundreds of Hezbollah targets in the last few days. In a separate incident, an Israeli drone strike killed six people, including children, who were fleeing threatened villages in southern Lebanon, according to Lebanon's National News Agency.

Four people were killed in strikes on the towns of Choukine and Nabatieh on Wednesday, according to Lebanese media. A missile struck an apartment building in Saida at approximately 02:40, killing five people and injuring 21. The casualties added to a mounting toll from the renewed Israeli military operations across southern Lebanon.

Additional Israeli evacuation orders were issued overnight while people were asleep. Shelters in Sidon (Saida) reached full capacity, and Tyre's authorities advised residents to travel further north to Beirut. Many residents displaced from southern Lebanon, including those already displaced from other areas, had nowhere obvious to go. Ambulance teams in Tyre were driving through neighborhoods urging residents to leave.

Hezbollah reported its fighters clashed with Israeli forces 'at point-blank range' in Zawtar al-Sharqiyeh on Wednesday, a town approximately 30 kilometers from the border that lies outside the Israeli-declared buffer zone. The clash indicated the geographic expansion of ground operations beyond the areas Israel had initially designated as security zones.

Israeli officials urged intensified strikes on Lebanon, including on Beirut buildings, citing drone threats as justification. This call for escalation came from center-right Israeli outlets as the military expanded operations beyond previously declared boundaries.

Israeli officials characterized Hezbollah's attacks as violations of the ceasefire, while Lebanese officials characterized Israeli strikes as violations of the ceasefire. Both sides accused the other of breaking the agreement that came into force on 17 April, reflecting fundamentally different interpretations of permissible actions under the truce terms.

Agnes Dhur, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross delegation in Lebanon, warned that the situation in the south was 'nearing a perilous tipping point' and that ongoing hostilities create conditions untenable for civilians. Humanitarian agencies warned that continued violence could deepen the crisis along Lebanon's southern coast and trigger further waves of displacement.