Israel Strikes Lebanon, 9 Killed as Fighting Reaches Beirut Suburbs

Israel carried out intense airstrikes across Lebanon, including areas near the capital Beirut, killing nine people and wounding several others, even as U.S.-mediated negotiations between Israeli and Lebanese officials advanced in Washington. Lebanon's Health Ministry reported that the attacks on June 3 targeted at least ten vehicles, one of which was an ambulance. Lebanese state media said one strike occurred just a few kilometers south of Beirut.

Among the victims were two medical workers in the town of Chehour and six others near the coastal city of Tyre. Lebanon's army confirmed one soldier was killed while traveling on a road in the south. An attack in the Khaldeh area, on the southern outskirts of Beirut, wounded two people, according to Lebanese security sources cited by Reuters.

Al Jazeera correspondent Ali Hashem in Beirut commented, "What we have seen in the past few hours is an escalation. This takes us back to square one." Colleague Zeina Khodr said the attack near Beirut raised fears that "no front line is safe in this ongoing conflict."

The strikes came after U.S. President Donald Trump said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had pledged to call off any plans to strike Beirut, though the prime minister's office said Israel retained the right to attack Beirut if Hezbollah continued its assaults. Speaking on the New York Post's "Pod Force One" podcast on June 3, Trump acknowledged a tense exchange with Netanyahu and said he was "a little upset" about Netanyahu's continued fighting with Lebanon. Netanyahu stressed that Israel must "disarm Hezbollah" and "demilitarize Lebanon" to achieve peace with its neighbor.

Although Israel and Lebanon reached a nominal ceasefire agreement in mid-April, attacks by both sides have persisted, with each accusing the other of violating the truce and justifying its own actions. This conflict has become a point of contention in U.S.-Iran negotiations, with Tehran demanding a comprehensive ceasefire in Lebanon as part of any deal.

Hezbollah also launched attacks on Israel on June 3, including rocket fire at Israeli troops in the north. The Israeli military said it shot down a "drone" and two airborne objects crossing into Israeli territory from Lebanon. Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Leiter said the intercepts prevented "a deadly attack on civilians, including children." Meanwhile, Israeli and Lebanese negotiators were expected to meet in Washington for the second day of the fourth round of direct talks. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed hope that both sides would issue a joint statement and action plan on "a security pathway" in Lebanon "independent of Hezbollah."

Correspondent Hashem, citing authoritative political sources in Beirut, said the next 24 hours would be "very critical," with mediation efforts also underway in Qatar. "There are efforts to secure a comprehensive ceasefire in Lebanon, which everyone here wants to end the suffering," Hashem said. Since Israel escalated its assault on Lebanon on March 2, following the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, a total of 3,516 people have been killed and 10,674 wounded in Lebanon, according to its Health Ministry. Israeli forces have also pushed north of the Litani River, displacing more than one million people.