The war reignited in March, after Hezbollah began firing at Israel in solidarity with Iran, days after the U.S.-Israeli war on Tehran began in late February. Though a U.S.-brokered cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah was announced in April, both sides have continued to launch attacks — fighting that has sharply escalated over the past week.
Lebanon’s government, which is distinct from Hezbollah, vowed to continue negotiating with Israel despite the latest Israeli threats against Beirut and its suburbs on Monday.
“Some regrettably consider negotiation to be surrender,” President Joseph Aoun of Lebanon said in a statement. “It is not that, nor is it a concession. It is a solution to stop wars with the least possible harm.”
The Trump administration has brokered rare talks between Israel and Lebanon in Washington on disarming Hezbollah, whose power and influence have long overshadowed the Lebanese government.
The relentless cycle of fighting has taken a toll on Lebanese people, even among Hezbollah’s support base in Dahiya, where the group holds sway.
“I’m really exhausted by this. It’s been nearly three years we’ve been suffering from this tension and stress,” said Batoul Hassan Srour, 47. “It’s enough. We’ve had enough.”
Ms. Srour left her home in Dahiya early Monday morning for a school that has become a shelter in Aramoun, north of Beirut. Later that day, she was still glued to her phone, anxiously refreshing news updates to see whether — and where — the Israeli military would strike. She said she hoped the bombardment of Dahiya would come quickly and that Israel would declare the operation over so that she could return home Monday night.
But as the hours passed, that possibility seemed increasingly unlikely — and the already tenuous cease-fire increasingly fragile.
“I don’t believe in this cease-fire; we heard this many times but we need action not just talk,” Ms. Srour said.
Hwaida Saad contributed reporting.
