Israel launches new strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs

Israel carried out a new airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs the night of March 15th, according to the Israeli military, which said the attack targeted Hezbollah infrastructure in the Lebanese capital, as reported by Al-Monitor and agencies on March 15th.

The strike occurred shortly after midnight and was heard by AFP journalists in Beirut. Earlier that day, the Israeli army had issued evacuation warnings for residents in the southern suburbs, an area that has faced repeated Israeli attacks over the past two weeks.

Following the strike, Israel’s military announced on social media that it was “currently striking Hezbollah terror infrastructure in Beirut.”

According to Lebanese authorities, Israeli attacks have killed an estimated 850 people and displaced more than 830,000 residents since March 2nd. Among them, roughly 130,000 are currently living in collective shelters.

Heavy rain on March 15th worsened conditions for displaced civilians, many of whom have been sleeping outdoors or in temporary tents along Beirut’s central seafront.

Nader, a 42-year-old coffee shop owner who fled from the southern suburbs, said he had rebuilt his home after the previous conflict with Israel in 2024 and now feared it had been destroyed again.

He described the harsh conditions faced by displaced families, saying the cold weather and strong winds were making life extremely difficult, especially for children and babies who are becoming sick.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reported that its peacekeepers were fired upon three times on March 15th in southern Lebanon, likely by non-state armed groups.

This came two days after another UN position was hit by gunfire that Lebanon’s state news agency attributed to Israel.

Israel stated that it has no plans to hold direct talks with Lebanon to end the latest conflict with Hezbollah, despite earlier reports that Beirut was preparing a delegation for negotiations.

Fighting continued elsewhere as Israeli strikes hit southern and eastern Lebanon, while Hezbollah claimed multiple attacks on Israeli military positions.

The group also said it launched an advanced missile toward the Palmachim air base south of Tel Aviv.

In the coastal city of Sidon, Israeli forces reportedly struck an apartment in a residential building, killing one person and starting a fire.

A Hamas source later told AFP that the strike killed Wissam Taha, an official from the Palestinian militant group.

Al-Monitor and agencies, Maghrebi.org