Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered strikes on Beirut’s Dahiyeh district Monday, hours before Lebanon confirmed Hezbollah had accepted a U.S. mutual-halt proposal.
A joint statement from Netanyahu and Katz directed the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to strike “terrorist targets” in Dahiyeh, citing Hezbollah’s “repeated and ongoing violations of the ceasefire” and “attacks against our civilians and cities.” Katz warned that “if there is no calm in the north, there will be no calm in Beirut.”
Lebanon’s Embassy in Washington said it had “received confirmation of Hezbollah’s acceptance of the U.S. proposal for a mutual cessation of attacks,” under which Hezbollah would halt strikes on Israel as Israel refrained from escalating in Beirut.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he spoke to both sides and that “all shooting will stop.”
Netanyahu confirmed the deal but warned strikes would continue “if Hezbollah does not stop attacking our cities and civilians.”
The order followed the IDF’s capture of Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon on May 31, the military’s deepest push into the country in 26 years.
📸‼️These are photos from the precise IDF operation in the Beaufort Ridge and Wadi Saluki area in southern Lebanon.
IDF troops located weapons in the village of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah- further proof of Hezbollah’s presence inside civilian areas in southern Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/2iPiROCbkI
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 31, 2026
Golani Brigade forces directing the operation guided an Israeli Air Force (IAF) strike near Nabatieh that killed Mohammed Mousa Mteirek, a Hezbollah missile array unit commander the IDF said had directed hundreds of rocket and drone launches at Israeli civilians and IDF troops.
🔴ELIMINATED: Mohammed Mousa Mteirek, a unit commander in Hezbollah’s missile array.
Mteirek held several positions in Hezbollah’s missile array, & was responsible for planning and carrying out hundreds of rocket and UAV launches targeting Israeli civilians & IDF soldiers… pic.twitter.com/1ayeneZiP9
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) June 1, 2026
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that a Lebanon ceasefire was an “unequivocal” condition of any U.S.-Iran deal. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke separately with Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, proposing a plan for “gradual de-escalation.”
Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported at least 3,433 people killed since March 2. Israel reported 24 soldiers and four civilians killed. France called for an emergency United Nations Security Council session Monday, and Israel-Lebanon talks in Washington remain scheduled for this week.
