Israel renewed its assault on southern Lebanon early Sunday as the war entered its ninth day and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised “many surprises” in the next phase of the conflict rippling across the region.
The latest strikes in Lebanon killed at least 20 more people, pushing the death toll there above 300 after Israel ordered large swaths of the country to evacuate during an offensive that its military said would be aimed at stamping out Iran-supported forces there.
The Israeli military has ordered tens of thousands of people in large swaths of the country, including parts of the Beirut area, to evacuate during an offensive that its military said would be aimed at stamping out Iran-supported forces there. It warned residents of southern Lebanon to move north on Sunday morning.
Israel’s renewed offensive began last week after Hezbollah launched rockets toward northern Israel during the opening days of the war. The subsequent strikes have been the most intense since a November 2024 ceasefire.
Israel withdrew from most of southern Lebanon at that time but continued near-daily strikes, primarily in southern Lebanon, saying that Hezbollah had been trying to rebuild its positions there. Hezbollah said last week that after more than a year of abiding by a ceasefire as Israel’s strikes continued on Lebanon, its patience has ended, leaving it with no option but to fight.
Israel and the United States launched the war on 28 February, saying they were targeting Iran’s nuclear and missile programs and suggesting they sought to topple the government. The conflict has since spread across the region, rattling global markets, disrupting air travel and leaving Iran’s leadership weakened by hundreds of Israeli and American airstrikes.
The fighting has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, more than 290 in Lebanon and 11 in Israel, according to officials in those countries. Six US troops have been killed.
Iran has fired missiles and drones at neighbouring countries in the Gulf, Israel has intensified attacks in Lebanon and strikes have reported from Cyprus to waters off of Sri Lanka.
As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu laid out the next phase of the war late Saturday, saying Israel aims to destabilise Iran’s regime and allow change in government, Israel launched another wave of strikes late Saturday, hitting an oil storage facility in Tehran — the first apparent strike on a civilian industrial site — sending pillars of fire into the night sky.