Iran War Live Updates: Israel Strikes Southern Lebanon After Pulling Back From Threat to Beirut

Under pressure from President Trump, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel held off from attacking Beirut. But he vowed to continue Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah, which could threaten peace talks with Iran. Share full articleImagePeople fleeing the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, on Monday, after the Israeli military was ordered to attack targets there.Credit...Daniel Berehulak/The New York Times See more of our coverage in your search results.Encuentra más de nuestra cobertura en los resultados de búsqueda. Add The New York Times on GoogleAgrega The New York Times en Google Latest PinnedUpdated June 2, 2026, 6:48 a.m. ETAaron BoxermanChristina GoldbaumFarnaz Fassihi and Hari Raj Here’s the latest.Israel launched fresh strikes in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel appeared to pull back from a threat to strike Hezbollah in Beirut, Lebanon’s capital, under pressure from President Trump and the United Nations. Mr. Netanyahu paused the attacks on Beirut but made no mention of a cease-fire in Lebanon and vowed to maintain the military offensive in the south. Iran has said that among its conditions for a peace agreement with the United States is an end to hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon. The Israeli military issued a new evacuation order on Tuesday for Nabatieh, one of southern Lebanon’s largest cities, which has been heavily bombarded in recent days. The strikes were launched as officials from the Lebanese government and Israel were set to meet on Tuesday for a new round of U.S.-mediated talks in Washington aimed at defusing the conflict. On Monday, diplomats at an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council were nearly unanimous — with the exception of the United States — in calling for Israel to withdraw its forces from Lebanon and refrain from launching more attacks. Israel had warned that it would strike Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold. Mr. Trump later said on social media that Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to stop their attacks on each other, while the Lebanese government — which does not include or control Hezbollah — said a new truce was taking shape. Mr. Netanyahu then issued a statement that appeared to move away from his immediate threat to attack Beirut while adding that the Israeli military would “continue to operate as planned in southern Lebanon.” “I spoke with President Trump tonight, and told him that if Hezbollah doesn’t cease its attacks on our cities and civilians — Israel will strike terror targets in Beirut,” he said. “This position of ours remains.” There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah. Lebanon’s government said it had “received confirmation that Hezbollah had agreed to the U.S. proposal for a mutual cessation of attacks.” A prominent Lebanese politician, Nabih Berri, who has acted as an intermediary between Hezbollah and the United States, said the group was prepared to accept a cease-fire. Market reaction:Oil prices fell on Tuesday after jumping more than 4 percent a day earlier on worries that the precarious cease-fire in the Middle East and negotiations for a U.S.-Iran peace deal were faltering. Inflation in the eurozone hit its highest level in more than two years in May, as the conflict in the Middle East has caused energy prices to soar. The inflation rate rose to 3.2 percent last month compared to the same period a year ago, the highest since September 2023. The European Central Bank is expected to raise interest rates at its meeting next week in an effort to stop higher inflation from becoming embedded in the economy as policymakers’ work to get inflation back to their 2 percent target. The Israeli military issued a new evacuation order on Tuesday for Nabatieh, one of southern Lebanon’s largest cities, signaling that its offensive against Hezbollah would not ease. The city and surrounding areas have been heavily bombarded in recent days. Oil prices fell on Tuesday after jumping more than 4 percent a day earlier on worries that the precarious cease-fire in the Middle East and negotiations for a peace deal between the United States and Iran were faltering. Brent Crude, the global benchmark, was down about 2 percent on Tuesday to roughly $93 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, was about 1.7 percent lower at roughly $91 a barrel. More than three months since the United States and Israel attacked Iran to start the war in late February, the Strait of Hormuz has remained mostly closed, choking off a major transit point for oil and gas supplies and other critical materials. The disruption has sent oil prices soaring and Brent is up nearly 30 percent since Feb. 28. Stocks were mixed in Asia and higher in Europe on Tuesday. S&P 500 futures pointed to a relatively quiet opening when markets resume trading in the U.S. Israel continued striking southern Lebanon on Tuesday, even after appearing to pull back from immediate threats of attacks on Beirut’s southern suburbs following an intervention by President Trump. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said Monday night that Israeli operations in southern Lebanon would continue “as planned,” making clear that any understanding to dial down the fighting with Hezbollah was limited to halting plans for a major assault on Beirut, the Lebanese capital. Israeli and Lebanese officials were set to resume U.S.-brokered talks in Washington on Tuesday, part of a diplomatic track aimed at stabilizing the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah and reaching a longer-term settlement. Farnaz Fassihi has covered the United Nations for 10 years through four different American administrations. U.N. Security Council members call for Israel to withdraw from southern Lebanon.ImageFleeing the southern suburbs of Beirut, a family sheltered on the roadside Monday amid growing traffic, after Israel warned the area would be targeted.Credit...Daniel Berehulak/The New York TimesAt a United Nations emergency Security Council meeting on Monday, diplomats were nearly unanimous — with the exception of the United States — in calling for Israel to withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon and refrain from threatened escalatory attacks on the country. The meeting, requested by France, took place on a day of turmoil in Lebanon, with tens of thousands of people fleeing their homes, shelters overfilling and a sense of panic because Israel had threatened to imminently attack the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon’s capital. A day earlier, Israel had moved deeper into Lebanon’s southern territory, inciting alarm and fear of an expanding military occupation. The tensions culminated with President Trump intervening and saying he had gotten Israel to back off from striking Lebanon and Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant and political group, not to attack Israel. Hezbollah attacked Israel in early March in defense of Iran not long after the war started. Israel has been attacking Lebanon in an effort to destroy Hezbollah. The Lebanese government has been engaging in direct negotiations with Israel to end hostilities but it has no power over Hezbollah. The fate of a peace deal between Iran and the United States was also at stake, as Iran signaled that it would suspend negotiations if Israel carried through with attacks Beirut. On Sunday, Israel’s forces moved deeper into southern Lebanon, capturing Beaufort, a Crusader castle that served as the Israeli Army’s headquarters during the long occupation of Lebanon from 1982 to 2000. Flying the Jewish state’s blue-and-white flag on the castle incited fury in Lebanon and beyond. “Israel’s presence north of the Blue Line is a clear violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” said Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, a senior U.N. official addressing the Council, referring to the demarcation line dividing Israel from Lebanon and the Golan Heights. “These hostilities are reverberating across the region.” Iran has said that among its conditions for a peace agreement with the United States is an end to hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon. Iran’s Armed Forces issued an evacuation warning for northern Israel, saying residents should leave if Israel attacked Beirut. At the Council meeting, some of the sharpest criticism of Israel’s actions came from France, Britain, Russia and China, all permanent members of the Council. The United States, which started the Iran war with Israel in February and is the fifth permanent member of the Council, focused its comments on blaming Iran and Hezbollah. France’s ambassador to the U.N., Jérôme Bonnafont, told the Council that Israel was committing “a major strategic mistake” in Lebanon, and while it had a right to defend itself against Hezbollah attacks, “nothing can justify the continuation and scale of its military operations in Lebanon.” Britain’s deputy ambassador, James Kariuki, condemned Israel’s actions. “This reckless and disproportionate escalation of Israeli military action exacerbates an already devastating environment for Lebanese civilians and places the government of Lebanon under further strain,” Mr. Kariuki said. Israel’s ambassador, Danny Danon, said Israel did not want escalation and it did not seek Lebanese territory. He said that “the problem is Hezbollah” and its decision to fire on Israel in early March in defense of Iran. Mr. Danon said Hezbollah’s attacks on communities in northern Israel had intensified in recent weeks and that its attacks reached further into Israel’s territory this past weekend. Diplomats representing other countries at the Council — Bahrain, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Pakistan, Denmark, Liberia and Colombia, which holds the rotating presidency in June — called for immediate de-escalation by Israel and expressed concern that more airstrikes, displacement of civilians and destruction would undermine any chances of a lasting peace. Lebanon’s ambassador, Ahmad Arafa, asked the Council to condemn Israel’s actions with a united voice and criticized the Council for failing to stop repeated aggressions against his country, allowing impunity for Israel that has “emboldened the perpetrator to commit the very same crimes time and time again.”

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Original Source: NYTimes