Israeli warplanes struck Beirut’s southern suburbs on Monday, hitting a building in the Al-Mreijeh area toward Bir al-Abed, followed by a second strike on the Rahab district near Sweidan Center, as Israel intensified its military campaign against Hezbollah.

The strikes came after the Israeli military issued an urgent evacuation warning to residents in the southern suburbs, urging people to leave immediately, particularly in Haret Hreik, Ghobeiry, Laylaki, Hadath, Burj al-Barajneh, Tahwitat al-Ghadir, and Shiyah.

The Israeli military said it was continuing operations targeting Hezbollah’s military infrastructure across the southern suburbs.

Escalation in the south

Fighting also intensified across southern Lebanon, where Israeli forces carried out a wave of airstrikes and heavy artillery shelling on multiple towns and strategic sites.

Israeli troops reportedly set fire to several homes in the coastal town of Naqoura. Airstrikes hit two houses in Deir Aames and Yater, while artillery targeted the outskirts of Maroun al-Ras, Yaroun, and Bint Jbeil. Additional strikes were reported in the town of Hanawiya.

Meanwhile, sirens sounded in the northern Israeli city of Haifa and surrounding areas following a rocket attack launched from Lebanon.

Hezbollah said Sunday that it has launched 1,100 military operations against Israeli targets since March 2.

UN peacekeeper killed

In a separate development, a United Nations peacekeeper was killed and several others wounded after a projectile struck a position of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) near Adchit al-Qusayr.

UNIFIL said the explosion occurred on Sunday and that it had launched an investigation into the incident, noting it was not yet clear where the projectile originated.

Indonesia confirmed that one of its nationals serving with the mission was killed, while three others were wounded. The Indonesian foreign ministry said the casualties were caused by “indirect artillery fire.”

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved family, and we wish a full and swift recovery to the injured personnel,” the ministry said, adding that Jakarta was working with UNIFIL to repatriate the fallen soldier and ensure proper medical care for the wounded.

Indonesia strongly condemned the incident and called for a full investigation, stressing that the safety and security of UN peacekeepers must be respected “at all times.” It also reiterated its condemnation of Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon and urged all parties to respect Lebanon’s sovereignty.

Israel presses offensive

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel’s military operations were exposing “visible cracks” in what he described as Iran’s regional network.

“Iran is not the same Iran. Hezbollah is not the same Hezbollah, and Hamas is not the same Hamas,” Netanyahu said after a security assessment at the Israeli military’s Northern Command headquarters in Safed. He described the three as “battered enemies fighting for their very existence.”

“Instead of them surprising us, we are surprising them,” he said. “We are the side that is acting, attacking, and initiating, and we are deep in their territory.”

Netanyahu added that Israel had established “three security zones deep in enemy territory” and said he had ordered an expansion of the buffer zone in southern Lebanon to push back Hezbollah forces and reduce the threat of anti-tank fire along the border.

While acknowledging that Hezbollah still retains the capability to launch rockets, Netanyahu said Israel was determined to eliminate that threat and “fundamentally change the situation in the north.”

Buffer zone push

The Israeli military said its 146th Division had advanced deeper into the western sector of southern Lebanon as part of efforts to establish a buffer zone aimed at pushing Hezbollah away from the border.

Troops recently reached strategic positions, including the Ras al-Bayada headland south of Tyre, about eight kilometers from the Israeli border—areas the military said could be used by Hezbollah to launch attacks.

Israeli officials have said the objective is to create a demilitarized zone extending to the Litani River, enforced through a combination of surveillance, firepower, and ground deployments in key locations.

Separately, the Israeli military said it destroyed a ready-to-launch Hezbollah missile system in the eastern Beqaa Valley in overnight strikes, along with weapons depots and buildings used by the group. Additional strikes targeted Hezbollah infrastructure in Beirut.

The Israeli military also reported targeting a Hezbollah cell disguised as paramedics in southern Lebanon on Saturday. According to the army, the operatives were operating alongside an ambulance, transferring weapons from northern to southern Lebanon "for use against Israeli forces and the State of Israel." Lebanon’s health minister said nine medics were killed in the strikes, including four from Hezbollah’s Islamic Health Committee and five from the Amal Movement’s Risala Scouts, which is allied with Hezbollah.

The Israeli army has repeatedly warned that Hezbollah is exploiting ambulances and medical infrastructure for military purposes. 

“In the past month alone, dozens of rockets were launched at Israel and soldiers from areas where these operatives operated, using ambulances and medical facilities to conceal their activities,” the military said.

Clashes and casualties

The Israeli military said three soldiers were seriously wounded and several others moderately injured in separate incidents in southern Lebanon on Sunday.

Two troops were critically hurt by an anti-tank guided missile, while another soldier was seriously wounded and two others moderately injured when a Hezbollah drone struck near Israeli forces. An additional soldier was moderately wounded in what the military described as an operational accident. All were evacuated to hospitals, and their families were notified.

The army also reported killing several Hezbollah fighters during recent ground operations. In one incident, Israeli forces identified militants entering a building before an airstrike targeted and killed them. In another, troops opened fire on operatives attempting to plant explosives and launch mortar attacks.

Israeli forces said they also uncovered a cache of weapons, including dozens of anti-tank missiles, grenades, and explosives.