Explosions again woke Lebanese and Israeli civilians on Monday and Tuesday as clashes between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah intensified, pushing an already fragile Lebanon toward deeper humanitarian collapse. Residents in Beirut’s southern suburbs and the south of the country report widespread destruction, shortages and growing fear of disease.
Sukaina Hemadah, 37, whose home in Haret Hreik was flattened by a previous Israeli airstrike, is sheltering with her four children in a downtown tent and relying on aid deliveries for food and water. She says sanitary conditions are dire, noting there is only one toilet for roughly 900 people and expressing concern that illnesses could spread quickly.
Humanitarian agencies say roughly 1.2 million people inside Lebanon have been displaced since Hezbollah stepped up attacks on Israel after the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on February 28, 2026. Lebanon’s health authorities reported 1,039 killed and 2,876 injured by Tuesday midday, and the numbers continue to rise as fighting and strikes persist.
Israeli forces have expanded ground operations across southern Lebanon, long considered a Hezbollah stronghold. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the Israeli military destroyed all five bridges over the Litani River that Hezbollah reportedly used to move fighters and weapons, and that remaining crossings and a security zone up to the Litani would be controlled by Israel. Katz added that hundreds of thousands displaced from south Lebanon will not be allowed to go back south of the Litani until Israeli authorities judge the area secure.
Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said the group will keep fighting to prevent the creation of an Israeli buffer or occupation in the south, calling any Israeli presence there an existential threat to Lebanon. Analysts say fighting is likely to continue along the border demarcation as both sides seek tactical advantage. Beirut-based analyst Lorenzo Trombetta argues that strikes on bridges and on electricity and water infrastructure are designed to make civilian life in the south unsustainable, to isolate the battlefield and to limit organized presence there, while the Lebanese army has pulled back northward to avoid being cut off.
The current confrontation follows a November 2024 ceasefire that halted nearly a year of skirmishes and months of war. That agreement had included a provision calling for Hezbollah’s disarmament, which the group refused, saying it must retain weapons to defend Lebanon from Israeli attacks and an Israeli military presence along the border. Israel maintains Hezbollah’s arsenal is a continuing threat.
Hezbollah’s military wing is designated a terrorist organization by the United States, Germany and several other countries. The group is part of an Iran-aligned network often referred to as the Axis of Resistance, which also includes Hamas in Gaza, the Houthis in Yemen and various militias in Iraq that oppose Israel and the United States.
In Beirut, President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam have said they are working to halt the fighting. The government declared Iran’s ambassador persona non grata and in early March outlawed Hezbollah’s military and security activities. Still, David Wood, senior Lebanon analyst at the International Crisis Group, says the central government will struggle to offer meaningful concessions to Israel without major concessions from Iran and Hezbollah. He warns that Beirut has demonstrated limited capacity to rein in Hezbollah’s military actions on its own.
Many Lebanese hold Hezbollah responsible for the escalation. Abbass Saad, 32, told reporters he opposes the group’s actions and objects to its armed presence in principle. Analysts caution, however, that while public anger is significant, it is unlikely to transform into a full-scale civil war. Ronnie Chatah, a Beirut-based political observer, expects localized tensions and demographic strains among the displaced but not a nationwide sectarian conflagration. Trombetta and others note that major Lebanese actors seem reluctant to enter a new internal confrontation given the heavy toll of past conflicts and social ties linking Hezbollah and segments of the Lebanese armed forces.
At the same time, observers warn the situation could escalate if Hezbollah perceives an existential threat. David Wood says civilians will pay the highest price and have little power to end the conflict. Kelly Petillo of the European Council on Foreign Relations cautions that Lebanon is sliding toward chaos and that Europe may see another wave of refugees unless displaced people can find safe shelter. Petillo urges European support for resilience and reconstruction, especially in heavily bombed southern areas, to help rebuild trust in the Lebanese state and provide an alternative to reliance on armed groups.
Humanitarian conditions remain severe. Large numbers are living in shelters, with friends or family, or in makeshift tents. Damage to water, power and transport infrastructure is complicating aid delivery, while overcrowded and unsanitary conditions heighten the risk of disease and further displacement. Aid organizations warn that without rapid, scaled assistance and protection for civilians, the humanitarian toll will continue to climb.