Nearly 500,000 Hezbollah supporters have evacuated southern Lebanon and parts of Beirut as the Israel Defense Forces intensify a sweeping air campaign against the group. More than 400,000 people fled southern Lebanon, while tens of thousands left Beirut neighborhoods such as Dahiya following dozens of strikes that have left some areas largely deserted.

In the past several days, the Israel Defense Forces have carried out hundreds of aerial attacks across Lebanon, a sharp escalation compared to the limited weekly strikes that followed the November 2024 ceasefire. Several senior Hezbollah officials have been killed, and Israel has signaled that the group’s leader, Naim Qassem, is also being targeted. The current pace of attacks, while lower than peak operations in September 2024, marks a significant intensification of hostilities.

Hezbollah has responded with increased rocket and drone fire toward northern Israel, forcing residents into shelters, though the scale remains below the group’s peak capabilities in 2024. Israeli forces say their control of southern Lebanon, particularly areas south of the Litani River, has limited Hezbollah’s ability to launch short-range attacks, even as tensions continue to rise amid the broader conflict involving Iran and the United States.