BEIRUT — Three Lebanese soldiers were killed in Israeli strikes on Tuesday, the Lebanese army confirmed, as Israel carried out new raids across multiple regions and again ordered residents of vast areas in southern Lebanon to evacuate.
The deaths mark another escalation in a conflict that has drawn Lebanon deeper into regional warfare since early March.
Conflict Background
Lebanon was drawn into the broader Middle East war on March 2 when pro-Iranian Hezbollah launched rockets toward Israel in response to US-Israeli strikes that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Since then, Israel has responded with intense strikes across Lebanese territory and ground operations in the south.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said earlier this month that Beirut’s suburbs would soon “resemble” the badly damaged Gazan city of Khan Yunis—a threat that drew sharp international condemnation.
UN Response
From Geneva, the UN rights office issued a strong statement Tuesday, saying that threats by Israeli officials “to impose the same level of destruction on Lebanon as inflicted in Gaza are wholly unacceptable.”
The warning underscores growing international concern that the conflict could expand further, drawing in more actors and causing widespread civilian suffering.
Humanitarian Crisis Deepens
In the southern city of Sidon, located well north of the immediate conflict zone, displaced families are already feeling the war’s impact. An AFP team reported people sleeping in their cars parked along the seafront corniche, having fled their homes with nowhere else to go.
The city “is full, we have no more capacity,” said Jihan Kaisi, director of an NGO that runs a school-turned-shelter where more than 1,100 people are crammed together.
“Lots of people are coming every day to ask for shelter but we don’t have space anymore, we can’t accept them,” she continued. Kaisi added that the road from the south was blocked on Monday with people fleeing north following evacuation warnings.
Military Casualties
The Lebanese military said three of its soldiers were killed in two Israeli air strikes in southern Lebanon. The Israeli army maintained that its operations were not directed “against the Lebanese army” and said at least one of the incidents was “under review.”
Lebanon’s army has attempted to stay out of the war, but this is not the first time it has suffered casualties. Three soldiers were killed by Israeli shelling earlier this month during a failed Israeli commando operation in eastern Lebanon.
Beirut Strike
In a separate incident Tuesday, Israel conducted an air strike near Beirut’s airport in the city’s southern suburbs, killing one person and wounding nine, according to the health ministry.
The Lebanese civil aviation authority issued a statement saying the airport continued to operate normally and that the road leading to it remained passable, despite the proximity of the strike.
Growing Displacement
With evacuation orders expanding and strikes continuing, the number of displaced Lebanese civilians is expected to grow. Shelters in safer areas are already overwhelmed, and families are running out of options.
For those fleeing the south, the journey north has become increasingly dangerous, with roads targeted and checkpoints creating bottlenecks. The coming days will likely test Lebanon’s capacity to cope with a humanitarian crisis that shows no signs of abating.
