Beirut's southern suburbs targeted for the third time after ceasefire: Israel sends political messages

Report by Edmond Sassine, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi    

For the third time, Israeli forces have attacked Beirut's southern suburbs. The first strike came with a prior warning following rocket fire from South Lebanon, accompanied by Israeli claims of drone activity in the area. 

Three days later, Israel carried out the assassination of Hezbollah commander Hassan Bdeir in the same district. 

On Sunday, Israeli forces issued a sudden evacuation order targeting what was later identified as a hangar, claiming it stored Hezbollah's precision missiles. This latest strike is part of a larger pattern, with 3,028 documented violations between November 27, 2024, and Monday, April 28, 2025. 

The rate of violations has averaged more than 20 per day, reflecting what observers describe as a continuous, fragmented war waged by Israel on Lebanese soil, with little regard for the ceasefire agreement, the ceasefire monitoring committee, or the countries guaranteeing the accord.

Observers see three key messages behind the attacks on the southern suburbs. 

First, Israel seeks to entrench its right to intervene in Lebanon, invoking U.S. guarantees that allow it to interpret the right to self-defense under the agreement according to its own terms. 

Second, the attacks send a signal to the Lebanese government, particularly in light of President Joseph Aoun's call for Israel to withdraw from five occupied points along the border so that Lebanon can assume complete security control and Speaker Nabih Berri's insistence that Hezbollah's arms should not be surrendered before Israel fulfills its obligations—tasks that Lebanon views as Washington's responsibility to enforce.

Third, by striking Beirut's southern suburbs, Israel appears intent on replicating its strategy along the border: preventing reconstruction, deterring the return of displaced residents, and disrupting social, economic, and security stability. Through these measures, Israel aims to foment dissent within Hezbollah's stronghold.