Israel Strikes Southern Beirut Ahead Of Security Cabinet Meeting On Hezbollah Ceasefire

What we know:

Israeli strikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs after its military issued an evacuation order in the area. The IDF has not yet commented
It comes ahead of a meeting with Israel’s security cabinet on Tuesday to discuss a 60-day ceasefire deal with Hezbollah in Lebanon
Israeli troops began a land invasion of Lebanon almost two months ago, in response to almost a year of rocket attacks from Hezbollah
The deal would reportedly see Israeli troops gradually withdraw from Lebanon while Hezbollah would move away from the Israeli border
Any ceasefire in Lebanon would not directly affect Israel’s war in Gaza, which began after Hamas launched its attacks on 7 October last year, and has seen more than 44,000 Palestinians killed

Meanwhile,

Lebanon’s foreign minister has expressed hope that a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah will be agreed by tonight.

Speaking at a G7 meeting in Italy, Abdallah Bou Habib says Lebanon “as a whole is paralysed”.

“Hopefully tonight, by tonight, we will have this ceasefire,” he adds.

He hopes the process will lead to talks that will “settle once and for all the borders between us and Israel”.

The Israeli security cabinet was set to discuss a 60-day ceasefire that would temporarily end hostilities with Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militia that’s based in Lebanon
Reports in Israeli media said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to the terms of the deal “in principle”
The EU’s foreign policy chief urged leaders to put pressure on Israel to support the proposal
Israeli strikes hit the southern suburbs of Beirut, shortly after its military issued an evacuation order for the area – the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has not yet commented
Overnight, Israel carried out strikes on the border between Lebanon and Syria, while the IDF says Hezbollah launched rockets on Israel’s north – Hezbollah has not yet commented on that attack
On Monday, 31 people were killed across Lebanon in Israeli air strikes, the country’s health ministry said.