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Strike Hits Beirut Apartment Block as Lebanon Grapples with 800,000 Displaced

Emergency services inspect the damage after an Israeli strike targeted an apartment at a building in the Aisha Bakkar neighborhood, Beirut, Lebanon, 11 March 2026. (EPA)
Emergency services inspect the damage after an Israeli strike targeted an apartment at a building in the Aisha Bakkar neighborhood, Beirut, Lebanon, 11 March 2026. (EPA)
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Strike Hits Beirut Apartment Block as Lebanon Grapples with 800,000 Displaced

Emergency services inspect the damage after an Israeli strike targeted an apartment at a building in the Aisha Bakkar neighborhood, Beirut, Lebanon, 11 March 2026. (EPA)
Emergency services inspect the damage after an Israeli strike targeted an apartment at a building in the Aisha Bakkar neighborhood, Beirut, Lebanon, 11 March 2026. (EPA)

An Israeli strike hit an apartment block in central Beirut on Wednesday, Lebanese authorities said, further widening Israeli attacks in the capital beyond the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs where heavy bombardment continued. 

Israel launched an offensive against Iran-backed Hezbollah after it opened fire on March 2 to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader at the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran. Israeli strikes have killed more than 600 people in Lebanon and uprooted 800,000 more, Lebanese authorities say. 

The Israeli military ordered reinforcements to the area bordering Lebanon including its elite Golani Brigade. Reuters reported on Tuesday that Hezbollah fighters were braced for the possibility of a full-scale Israeli invasion of the south. 

'THIS IS A NIGHTMARE' 

Footage showed heavy damage to two floors of the apartment block in Beirut's Aisha Bakkar neighborhood, and smoke rising from the building. Four people were ‌wounded in the ‌strike, the Lebanese health ministry said. 

The Israeli military did not comment on the strike. 

"The sound ‌was ⁠indescribable, the fear ⁠is indescribable. Enough is enough, enough. This is a nightmare, when will it end?" said Bassima Ramadan, a woman living across the street who was woken up by the strike around 5:30 a.m. (0330 GMT).  

It would mark the second Israeli strike in the heart of Beirut in four days. On Sunday, an Israeli strike hit a hotel in a seafront neighborhood. Israel said that strike killed five senior members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, which established Hezbollah in 1982. 

Israel kept up heavy strikes on the southern suburbs on Wednesday, sending towers of smoke billowing across the skyline. 

Israel has ordered residents of the suburbs to leave, along with residents of a swathe of southern Lebanon and ⁠parts of the east - all areas where Hezbollah has a grip on security and political ‌sway. 

MEDIC, PRIEST KILLED IN ISRAELI STRIKES 

Over 100,000 people are in organized shelters, ‌while others are staying with friends, family or are on the streets. 

After fleeing her village in the south, Mariam Rida, 73, said she spent $110 ‌for a night at a hotel, then three nights sleeping under a Beirut bridge and a few nights at ‌a school-turned-shelter. 

"I want to go back to my hometown. I'm afraid, I'm scared for myself. There are strikes here and there are strikes there, I’m confused about where to go," said Rida. 

Displaced people have struggled to reach shelters and once they do, they are living in "super rough conditions," said Maureen Philippon, the Norwegian Refugee Council's Lebanon director. 

Shelters lack showers and sufficient toilets, several families occupy the same rooms and there are fears of infectious diseases ‌spreading, she told Reuters. 

Lebanon's health ministry said on Wednesday that 634 people had been killed and more than 1,500 wounded in Israeli strikes since March 2. 

This week's toll includes Catholic ⁠priest Pierre al-Rahi and Red ⁠Cross medic Youssef Assaf. Both died after sustaining injuries in separate Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon earlier this week and were buried on Wednesday. 

Pope Leo offered his condolences for Rahi on Wednesday, saying he was a "true shepherd" who was killed while trying to help parishioners injured in a strike. 

The International Committee of the Red Cross mourned Assaf in a statement posted on social media, saying Assaf "lost his life while carrying out his humanitarian duty". 

ISRAEL PRESSES LEBANON AT UN 

The Israeli military says it has struck hundreds of Hezbollah targets since March 2, launching daily airstrikes in the south, Beirut's southern suburbs, and the Bekaa Valley. 

The Israeli military has sent more soldiers into south Lebanon and established new positions it said would help prevent Hezbollah attacks on northern Israel. 

Lebanon said last year it aims to establish a state monopoly on arms and its cabinet last week outlawed Hezbollah's military activities. 

But Israel's ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon said on Wednesday that Beirut needed to take direct action. 

"If Hezbollah is being dismantled, what are the evidence? What are the operations against the launch sites? Where are the seizures of their weapons? Where is your military?" Danon said. 

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Arab World

Israeli Flag Raised over Lebanon’s Beaufort Castle in Deepest Incursion in 26 Years

An Israeli flag is raised on Beaufort Castle, as seen from Marjayoun, southern Lebanon, May 31, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
An Israeli flag is raised on Beaufort Castle, as seen from Marjayoun, southern Lebanon, May 31, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
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Israeli Flag Raised over Lebanon’s Beaufort Castle in Deepest Incursion in 26 Years

An Israeli flag is raised on Beaufort Castle, as seen from Marjayoun, southern Lebanon, May 31, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
An Israeli flag is raised on Beaufort Castle, as seen from Marjayoun, southern Lebanon, May 31, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer

Israeli troops have captured a strategic mountain topped with a Crusader-built castle in southern Lebanon in their deepest incursion into the country in more than a quarter century, bragging about planting the flag on the medieval fortress of Beaufort.

The capture of Beaufort near the city of Nabatiyeh came after days of intense fighting and airstrikes in nearby villages where Israeli troops fought Hezbollah members in the rugged area.

The capture of the castle marks a major gain for Israel since the latest Israel-Hezbollah war began in early March and as the two countries hold direct talks in Washington.

The Israeli push came despite a nominal ceasefire that has been in place since April 17.

The Israeli army’s Arabic spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, posted a photograph on X showing Israeli troops walking outside the castle.

Defense Minister Israel Katz also wrote on X, saying that they had raised an Israeli flag over the castle.

"Forty-four years after the heroic Battle of Beaufort, and on this day commemorating the soldiers who fell in the First Lebanon War (1982), our troops have returned to the summit of Beaufort and once again raised the Israeli flag there," Katz said on his Telegram channel.

Israeli troops previously captured the castle in 1982 and held it until they withdrew from Lebanon in 2000.

The Israeli military said in a statement that it launched an operation a few days ago in the Beaufort Ridge and the Suluki valley further south with the aim of dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure and removing "direct threats to Israeli civilians.”

The statement said the army is ready “to expand the operation if needed.”

Israeli troops have been advancing for days in villages close to Beaufort castle after crossing the Litani River, which the Israeli military previously used as a de facto boundary. They are now about 5 kilometers from the city of Nabatiyeh, a major center in southern Lebanon.

 

This picture taken from the Marjayoun area in southern Lebanon shows smoke rising after an Israeli airstrike on the village of Arnoun on May 31, 2026. (Photo by AFP)

Also Sunday, the Israeli military warned Lebanese civilians living south of the Zahrani river to evacuate the region, warning that it was stepping up operations against Hezbollah.

"Residents of southern Lebanon, you must move immediately to north of the Zahrani," Adraee posted on social media.

Hezbollah overnight claimed two attacks targeting Israeli troops and a Merkava tank in the southwestern town of Bayada near the border. In recent days, the group has said it has clashed with Israeli troops in several towns just north of the river near Nabatiyeh and the strategic castle.

Hezbollah in recent weeks has frustrated Israel with attacks on troops and northern towns using hard-to-detect fiber optic drones.

The Israeli army announced Sunday that one of its soldiers had been killed the previous day by a Hezbollah explosive drone in southern Lebanon.

In total, 25 Israelis have been killed - 24 soldiers and one civilian contractor - since hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah resumed on March 2.
 

Arab World

UN Reveals Famine Pockets in Areas of Northern Yemen

Unprecedented deterioration of living and economic conditions in Yemen (UN)
Unprecedented deterioration of living and economic conditions in Yemen (UN)
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UN Reveals Famine Pockets in Areas of Northern Yemen

Unprecedented deterioration of living and economic conditions in Yemen (UN)
Unprecedented deterioration of living and economic conditions in Yemen (UN)

Famine pockets are emerging in Houthi-controlled areas of northern Yemen, amid an unprecedented deterioration of living and economic conditions and severe funding shortfalls, threatening to slide millions of Yemenis into catastrophic levels of food insecurity, recent UN data showed.

In its Yemen Market and Trade Bulletin, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said Yemen currently bears the world’s highest burden of populations trapped in the Integrated Food Security Phase 4 (Emergency).

It warned that without immediate multi-year funding and the restoration of humanitarian access, a slide into localized catastrophic conditions (IPC Phase 5) remains imminent.

FAO said the food security outlook for Yemen through the end of 2026 remains highly alarming, with 18.7 million people (53% of the population) projected to face Crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3+).

Its short-term outlook and implications on food security found that Yemen currently bears the world’s highest burden of populations trapped in the “emergency” phase, covering approximately 17% of the population, where the risk of excess mortality (exceeding the expected number of deaths under normal conditions) is real and steadily increasing.

Indicators of Famine

The FAO report said isolated pockets of catastrophic conditions (IPC Phase 5) are already emerging, particularly within Houthi-controlled areas.

It assumed that Yemen's structural food system collapse is driven by a critical convergence of localized instability, severe funding shortfalls (only 13% funded as of May), and regional geopolitical shocks.

Regional escalations and trade disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz are driving up fuel costs, triggering price increases across domestic transport, food, and agricultural inputs, the report added.

It warned that without immediate multi-year funding and the restoration of humanitarian access, a slide into localized catastrophic conditions (IPC Phase 5) remains imminent.

The report noted that the cost of the Minimum Food Basket remained stable, tracking 26% lower year-on-year and 9% below the three-year average. However, actual food access remains heavily restricted across communities by weak consumer purchasing power, irregular public salary payments, and the lingering effects of past inflation shocks, it added.

Economic Pressures

According to the UN agency, fuel prices in government-controlled areas rose, pushing overall costs back to their three-year average—with diesel climbing slightly above it—renewing pressure on domestic fuel affordability.

Concerning food and fuel imports, UN data showed that in April, wheat imports diverged by port, rising through Houthi-controlled ports in the north while collapsing through government-controlled ports.

Also, fuel imports resumed via Ras Isa after none in March, lifting national fuel imports 71% month-on-month.

FAO said that compounded by decades of civil conflict and intensifying climate shocks, macroeconomic and external pressures have affected Yemeni household assets, plunging over 53% of the population into severe food insecurity and forcing millions into deep, systemic destitution and poverty.

In return, it noted that in government-controlled areas, a stronger Yemeni Rial kept staple food prices stable month-on-month and 22% to 30% lower than the previous year.

Still, the UN agency warned that rising domestic fuel prices alongside increasing global food, energy, and shipping costs threaten to renew upward pressure on local food prices.

Concerning casual labor wage rates, FAO revealed that in April 2026, labor markets showed mixed trends: agricultural wages remained constant at 6% higher year-on-year and 18% above the three-year average, whereas casual labor wages fell 11% compared to April 2025 and dropped slightly below their three-year average, highlighting a continuous decline in non-agricultural income opportunities.

Arab World

PM Says Lebanon Facing Dangerous Israeli Escalation

Destroyed buildings are pictured in the village of Kfar Kila in southern Lebanon as seen from across the border in the Upper Galilee region of northern Israel on May 29, 2026. (AFP)
Destroyed buildings are pictured in the village of Kfar Kila in southern Lebanon as seen from across the border in the Upper Galilee region of northern Israel on May 29, 2026. (AFP)
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PM Says Lebanon Facing Dangerous Israeli Escalation

Destroyed buildings are pictured in the village of Kfar Kila in southern Lebanon as seen from across the border in the Upper Galilee region of northern Israel on May 29, 2026. (AFP)
Destroyed buildings are pictured in the village of Kfar Kila in southern Lebanon as seen from across the border in the Upper Galilee region of northern Israel on May 29, 2026. (AFP)

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam denounced on Saturday what he called a dangerous Israeli escalation in the south, urging an immediate ceasefire and insisting that a "scorched-earth policy" would not ensure Israel's security.

In a televised address, Salam also defended his government's direct negotiations with Israel -- which Iran-backed Hezbollah opposes -- saying that the talks were the "least costly path" for Lebanon.

"In light of the dangerous and unprecedented Israeli escalation over the past few days, it is necessary to step up political and diplomatic efforts to achieve a swift and real ceasefire," Salam said.

He accused Israel of "pursuing a scorched-earth policy and collective punishment" by "destroying towns and villages, and forcing their inhabitants into exile".

This will bring "neither security nor stability" to Israel, he said.

Salam's broadcast came after Israel's military issued new evacuation warnings for residents of more south Lebanon villages, and a day after military delegations from both countries held landmark security talks in Washington.

Those talks took place ahead of US-brokered negotiations early next week -- the fourth round since the latest Israel-Hezbollah conflict erupted in March.

Salam said the outcome of the direct negotiations with Israel was "not guaranteed", but that they "are the least costly path for our country and our people".

A US statement after Friday's talks made no mention of a ceasefire, and Israel has recently intensified its air and ground operations against Hezbollah.

A truce to halt the fighting officially took effect on April 17, but has never been observed.