The airstrikes on the southern outskirts of the Lebanese capital, an area where Hezbollah holds sway, were some of the heaviest since a U.S.-brokered cease-fire came into effect in November.

The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah was long considered Iran’s first line of defense in case of a war with Israel.

A series of Israeli strikes have targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs on the eve of the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday, almost an hour after the Israeli army issued a forced evacuation order to residents in areas that it says held underground facilities used by the Lebanese group Hezbollah for drone production.

Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah fought an escalating conflict for 13 months from 2023-24. It culminated in an intense Israeli bombing campaign and ground incursion into southern Lebanon in October.

Israel has continued to carry out near-daily strikes in southern and eastern Lebanon since the ceasefire, which Lebanon has said are in violation of the agreement. Israeli officials say the strikes are intended to prevent Hezbollah from regrouping after a war that took out much of its senior leadership and arsenal.

Despite the recent war with Israel and political tensions in Lebanon, activity at Beirut Airport is on the rise, the highest in years. Security measures have been significantly enhanced to ensure the safety of travelers,

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Syria’s interior ministry denied that the people arrested were from Hamas. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.