Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on June 1 ordered the military to strike Hezbollah targets in Beirut’s southern suburbs, amid Israel’s expanding campaign against the Iran-backed organization despite a ceasefire that has nominally been in place since April.
The order came as Israeli forces deepened their ground offensive in southern Lebanon and expanded operations north of the Litani River, while U.S. diplomatic efforts sought to keep negotiations between Israel and Lebanon to end the fighting on track.
