Israeli strikes hit near Beirut as envoy says disarming Hezbollah could end war

BEIRUT – Israel’s military pounded the Lebanese capital’s southern suburbs with air strikes on March 10, and its troops pushed deeper into the country’s south, as an Israeli envoy said the key to ending the war was disarming Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Lebanon was pulled deep into the war in the Middle East last week when Iran-backed Hezbollah opened fire on Israel to avenge the killing of Iran’s supreme leader.

Israel has since launched air strikes across Lebanon’s south and east and Beirut’s suburbs, killing nearly 500 people, including more than 80 children, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

Strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs on the afternoon of March 10 sent thick columns of smoke over the city. Two hours before they began, an Israeli military spokesperson ordered residents to leave immediately, specifying three new districts that should be evacuated.

A member of the municipal council for the area told Reuters that families there were fleeing, adding to the nearly 700,000 that the Lebanese authorities say have already been displaced by the war.

Lebanon’s Minister of Social Affairs Haneen Sayed said on March 10 that the state was bracing itself for higher displacement figures than in 2024, when the last war between Israel and Hezbollah pushed more than a million people out of their homes.

“So we expect that the needs, the number of displacements, will be higher than in 2024. Now, on the other side, in terms of resources, there are far fewer resources this year, given the global situation, the regional war that’s happening,” she said.

Disarming Hezbollah could end war, says Israeli envoy

Ms Sayed spoke to Reuters at Beirut’s airport, where the European Union was delivering 45 tonnes of emergency supplies, including medical kits and blankets.

“Our traditional partners and friends in the Gulf are, of course, under stress themselves. So we’re appealing to the international community to be with us at this moment to help stabilise the situation in terms of humanitarian needs,” she said.

Israeli troops made advances on March 10 in additional towns in south-eastern Lebanon, including with armoured columns, Lebanese security sources told Reuters.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun signalled on March 9 his openness to enter direct negotiations with Israel to end the war.

But Israel’s Ambassador to France Joshua Zarka said on March 10 that words were not enough.

“At this stage, I’m not aware of any decision to enter negotiations to end this war,” Mr Zarka said. “What would end it is the disarmament of Hezbollah – and that is a choice for the Lebanese government.”

Mr Zarka said Lebanon’s government was “making very good statements, but to these comments they need to add actions”.

Lebanon’s government in 2025 vowed to establish a state monopoly on arms and confiscated part of Hezbollah’s arsenal in the country’s south, without objections from the group.

But Hezbollah has refused to disarm in full, and the Lebanese authorities fear that taking its arms by force could ignite a civil conflict. REUTERS