Israel Orders Military To Strike Beirut's Southern Suburbs

(MENAFN- IANS) Jerusalem, June 1 (IANS) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz on Monday said in a joint statement that they had ordered the military to strike Beirut's southern suburbs.

According to the statement, the order was given following repeated Hezbollah violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon, including rocket and drone attacks targeting northern Israeli cities.

Israel's Channel 12 News reported that the move came after the United States approved Israel's requests to expand military activity in Lebanon, shifting from an initial focus on the country's south to include airstrikes in the capital city, reports Xinhua news agency.

Meanwhile, Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said Sunday that Hezbollah is committed to a comprehensive and immediate ceasefire, calling for efforts to compel Israel to halt its military operations, Lebanon's National News Agency reported.

Berri said the conflict "does not lie in the resistance's position on a ceasefire," but rather in the continuation of Israeli military operations in Lebanon, which he said have displaced thousands of Lebanese civilians and continue to demolish villages and homes in various areas.

Any effort to de-escalate the conflict requires genuine guarantees that would oblige Israel to fully stop its attacks, he added.

Additionally, the IDF on Sunday said it had captured Beaufort Castle after entering the Beaufort Ridge and Wadi al-Saluki areas in southern Lebanon.

According to the IDF, the operation is focused on establishing operational control over the Beaufort Ridge and the Wadi al-Saluki area, as well as degrading Hezbollah's capabilities in the region.

According to the IDF, Hezbollah directed military and combat activities from the Beaufort Ridge and carried out numerous attacks from the area.

Prime Minister Netanyahu also said he had instructed the IDF to expand its incursion into Lebanon.

Earlier Monday, an Israeli soldier from an elite commando unit was killed in southern Lebanon by an explosive drone launched by Hezbollah. Three other Israeli soldiers were wounded, one of them seriously, in the village of Yohmor.

The Israel Defense Forces said that throughout Monday morning, Hezbollah continued to launch rockets and drones towards northern Israel, some of which were successfully intercepted, and others fell in open areas, without casualties.

The Israeli military also said that it destroyed the launcher from which Hezbollah fired rockets Sunday night towards Tiberias, a city in northeastern Israel, with no injuries reported.

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