Israel orders military to strike Beirut's southern suburbs

JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz on Monday said in a joint statement that they had ordered the military to strike Beirut's southern suburbs.

According to the statement, the order was given following repeated Hezbollah violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon, including rocket and drone attacks targeting northern Israeli cities.

Israel's Channel 12 News reported that the move came after the United States approved Israel's requests to expand military activity in Lebanon, shifting from an initial focus on the country's south to include airstrikes in the capital city.

Earlier Monday, an Israeli soldier from an elite commando unit was killed in southern Lebanon by an explosive drone launched by Hezbollah. Three other Israeli soldiers were wounded, one of them seriously, in the village of Yohmor.

The Israel Defense Forces said that throughout Monday morning, Hezbollah continued to launch rockets and drones towards northern Israel, some of which were successfully intercepted, and others fell in open areas, without casualties.

The Israeli military also said that it destroyed the launcher from which Hezbollah fired rockets Sunday night towards Tiberias, a city in northeastern Israel, with no injuries reported.