Women walk down a street as residents flee Beirut's southern suburbs after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered strikes on the area, June 1, 2026. (Credit: Mohamed Azakir/Reuters)
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Monday there would be "no calm in Beirut" if Hezbollah attacks continued and vowed to establish a military-controlled zone in the Litani River area of southern Lebanon.
"The Dahiyeh in Beirut is no different from the communities in northern Israel — if there is no calm in the north, there will be no calm in Beirut," Katz said in a statement released by his office, referring to Beirut's southern suburbs, which Israel had earlier ordered struck.
"At the same time, the Israeli military continues to operate with fire and maneuver against Hezbollah terrorists and infrastructure in Lebanon ... in order to push threats away from Israeli military forces and from the residents of the State of Israel, and to turn the Litani area into a zone under Israeli military security control, free of weapons and terrorists," he added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to push deeper into Lebanon after announcing Friday that a large part of southern Lebanon was now considered a "combat zone," despite a cease-fire.
After the cease-fire took effect April 17, Israel established a "Yellow Line" roughly 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) north of its border, inside Lebanese territory.
Last week, the Israeli military declared all areas south of the Zahrani River — including the cities of Sour and Nabatieh, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the border — to be combat zones and ordered residents to evacuate.
Avichay Adraee, the Israeli military's Arabic-language spokesperson, said Monday that the army had issued a new evacuation order for seven towns and villages north of the Zahrani.
President Joseph Aoun said Monday that Lebanon was facing "a vicious and reprehensible Israeli aggression."
