Netanyahu Orders IDF To Intensify Strikes Against Hezbollah, Forcing Beirut Suburbs To Flee

Fearing fresh Israeli strikes, families from Beirut’s southern suburbs fled to the city’s waterfront on Monday night, May 25, 2026, as Israel’s escalation against Hezbollah threatened displaced people in Lebanon.

“Toggle Play Lebanon latest: Netanyahu vows escalation against Hezbollah Al Jazeera’s Obaida Hitto brings you the latest from southern Lebanon amidst increasing Israeli attacks”

Al Jazeera

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the military to “increase the blows” against Hezbollah, and The New York Times reported the Israeli military struck more than 100 Hezbollah sites overnight in southern and eastern Lebanon.

Al Jazeera

The New York Times also said the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning on Tuesday for the entire city of Nabatieh, one of the largest cities in southern Lebanon, signaling that airstrikes there were imminent.

In the Bekaa Valley, Mashghara was among the areas hit overnight, killing at least 11 people, including two children, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.

The New York Times added that troops were operating beyond what Israel calls the “forward defense line,” an area extending several miles into southern Lebanon that Israel has occupied since it invaded the country during the latest conflict.

Netanyahu vowed to “crush” Hezbollah as Israel intensified strikes across southern and eastern Lebanon, and France 24 reported that the escalation deepened fears of a wider regional conflict despite an April ceasefire.

In a video statement posted on his Telegram channel, Netanyahu said, “I have ordered an even greater acceleration of our operations,” adding, “We will intensify our blows, increase our firepower, and we will crush them.”

Al-Jazeera Net

Hezbollah said it staged attacks on Monday on three barracks and a military post in northern Israel “in response to the violation of the ceasefire” by Israel, according to The Guardian.

The Guardian also reported that Hezbollah claimed responsibility for drone attacks on Shomera barracks and other targets in northern Israel, and that fighting erupted on 2 March with a ceasefire that came into effect on 17 April but left both sides exchanging fire near-daily.

In parallel, The Guardian said Iran’s negotiating team spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told a foreign ministry press briefing that future management of the strait of Hormuz was a matter for Oman and Iran to reach agreement on, and that it was not tolls being proposed but “fees for navigational services”.

Lebanese health authorities said Israeli airstrikes killed 31 people and injured 40 others, including children and women, as Israel expanded its ground and air operations against Hezbollah, according to Sky News.

Sky News reported that the town of Borj al-Shamali, near Sidon, recorded the largest toll with 14 killed, including two children and three women, along with 16 wounded.

The escalation came after an Israeli warning to evacuate Nabatieh completely, while the Israeli army announced the expansion of its ground operations beyond what is known as the Yellow Line in southern Lebanon, Sky News said.

In Beirut, UNIFIL recorded the highest number of air violations since the ceasefire went into effect, with hundreds of shooting incidents reported in the past hours, according to سكاي نيوز عربية.

The New York Times framed the broader stakes as diplomatic pressure, saying the escalation threatens to complicate diplomatic efforts as Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group, kept up rocket and drone attacks on Israeli troops.