Israel intensified its assault on Lebanon on Tuesday, carrying out waves of strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs and across the south in what residents described a s a "night of terror".
Multiple raids hit residential areas, including Bir El-Abed, Roueiss and Hadath, accompanied by low-flying warplanes and repeated evacuation threats.
An air strike in Bchamoun, outside Hezbollah's usual reported areas of influence, killed three people, including a three-year-old child, according to Lebanon's health ministry, marking a further expansion of Israeli attacks beyond previously targeted zones.
Across south Lebanon, Israeli bombardment struck homes, fuel stations and civilian infrastructure in Tyre, Nabatiyeh, Bint Jbeil and Marjeyoun. Several strikes killed civilians, while artillery fire hit residential neighbourhoods in Naqoura.
Ground incursions were also reported in southern Lebanon, with an Israeli unit infiltrating the village of Halta, killing one resident and abducting another during a raid on a home, according to local sources.
Israel said it had captured two Hezbollah fighters during ground operations in the south, though the group has not confirmed the claim.
Despite slow Israeli advances, fighting remains ongoing, with Hezbollah targeting Israeli troops and vehicles in multiple border villages.
Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah said fighters remain on the front lines, with Israeli forces yet to firmly establish their control over southern villages.
The escalation comes after Israel threatened to take control of a "security zone" in south Lebanon up to the Litani River, raising fears of a deeper and prolonged occupation of the country.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military would control the area and that displaced Lebanese residents would be barred from returning to their homes south of the Litani until Israeli security demands are met.
The move revives longstanding Israeli ambitions tied to the Litani River, which has historically been viewed not only as a military buffer but also as a strategic and resource-rich boundary. Israeli incursions reaching the Litani date back decades, including the 1978 invasion and the prolonged occupation of southern Lebanon until 2000, fuelling Lebanese fears of territorial and water resource encroachment.
Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich proposed on Monday for Israel to establish a "new border with the Lebanese state" on the banks of the Litani River, some 20 miles north of the Blue Line .
Meanwhile, Lebanon's foreign ministry announced on Tuesday it had withdrawn its approval of the Iranian ambassador's accreditation, giving him until Sunday to leave the country.
The ministry, which is held by the staunchly anti-Hezbollah Lebanese Forces party, itself with a history of past close coordination with Israel, said it had also summoned Lebanon's ambassador to Iran "in light of... Tehran's violation of diplomatic norms and established practices between the two countries".
It came after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that continued Israeli attacks on civilians in Lebanon and Gaza would trigger retaliation.
In a statement on Tuesday, the IRGC said Israel had "crossed all red lines" and threatened to target Israeli troop concentrations with missiles and drones, warning of a "swift and harsh" response if the escalation continues.