Israel launches strikes on Beirut suburbs after Hezbollah drone attack

Trigger: Hezbollah drone attack

Lebanese civil defense reported at least three killed and six injured. Lebanese sources also said Israel had once again targeted a commander of the militia. There was initially no information on possible casualties on the Israeli side. The Israeli military reported two impacts near the border with Lebanon on Sunday. No one was injured, it said. The Israeli news portal "ynet" reported that a drone had struck in the area of the border town of Shlomi. As a result of the attacks, warning sirens had sounded in towns along the northern border.

The trigger for the escalation was a drone attack by Hezbollah. The pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia had previously attacked northern Israel with explosive drones. The attack came in response to Hezbollah's firing on Israeli territory, according to government circles in Jerusalem. There was no initial reaction from Hezbollah.

Evacuation calls and warnings

The Israeli army had previously called on people in 29 locations in southern Lebanon to move to safety because of planned strikes. The Arabic-language army spokesman Avichay Adraee issued two successive warnings on Sunday on the online platform X — first for 13 locations in southern Lebanon, and then for 16 additional locations north of the Sahrani River. Reports said there was a new Israeli evacuation call for 29 locations in Lebanon.

Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich described the attack on the online platform X as a test of the "Dahiyeh Doctrine" of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Smotrich demanded that Netanyahu destroy buildings in Dahiyeh "today." "We have promised security to the residents of the north — and we must keep that promise!" Smotrich wrote further. "We are in decisive days for shaping the region for many years to come," he added.

Political reactions in Israel

The term Dahiyeh Doctrine refers to an Israeli military doctrine that provides for the use of massive force against civilian infrastructure and civilians. The southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital are considered a stronghold of the Islamist militia.

Israel said it had taken measures to minimize civilian damage, including the use of precision munitions and aerial reconnaissance. This account stands in contradiction to reports of dead and wounded in the densely populated suburb of Dahiyeh. A resident of a Beirut suburb told the German Press Agency: "Every Sunday it is the same thing. For two hours after an attack we leave the area, then we come back." Residents said they were weary of war in the face of the recurring strikes.

The Dahiyeh Doctrine and its significance

Hezbollah is demanding, among other things, a full withdrawal of Israeli ground troops from the country. In Lebanon, Israel is seeking to destroy Hezbollah and reach a peace settlement with the government. The Iran, allied with Hezbollah, wants to achieve a ceasefire in Lebanon as part of a framework agreement with the USA to end the Iran war. Israel, however, is strictly opposed to such a linkage of the two fronts. Israel subsequently accused the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia of violating the ceasefire.

Diplomatic background

On Thursday, a convoy carrying aid supplies for three Christian villages in southern Lebanon had to change its route due to exchanges of fire. The convoy of 45 trucks and vehicles was meant to transport food aid, medicines and fuel. Also affected by the incident was the Apostolic Nuncio in Lebanon, Archbishop Paolo Borgia, who was accompanying the convoy. The Catholic press agency Kathpress reported on this on Sunday.

Aid convoy under fire

The Nuncio told Vatican Radio: "We are in a war situation, but we will continue to help the people." The Catholic Church is thus one of the few institutions that continues to try to bring aid deliveries into the affected areas despite the fighting.

Only about a week earlier, Israel had struck targets in the southern suburbs of Beirut in response to Hezbollah rocket fire on northern Israel. The latest airstrikes represent a renewed escalation of the mutual firing that has been ongoing for months.

Background and context

Iran too had previously responded to Israeli attacks with rocket strikes on northern Israel. The regional conflict is thus increasingly spreading to other actors. The spiral of retaliation and counter-retaliation repeatedly exposes the civilian population on both sides of the border to violence.

The reports on the latest strikes were broadcast on 14.06.2026 on Deutschlandfunk's programming. International mediation efforts to contain the ongoing escalation between Israel and Hezbollah have so far remained without visible success.