Israel Strikes South of Beirut Amid Questions About Cease-Fire Push

The Israeli military pressed on with its bombing campaign south of Beirut on Saturday, striking a heavily Shiite district outside of Lebanon’s capital as prospects for a cease-fire remained murky.There was no immediate information about casualties from the strikes on the Dahiya area south of Beirut, which has been hit by a string of bombings this week.The attacks on Saturday came amid a new flurry of Israeli evacuation warnings to local residents and after a round of strikes overnight on the same area.Israel has said the strikes this week have targeted facilities used by Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese militia that holds sway in the Dahiya.

It has accused the group of hiding “terrorist infrastructure” in residential areas.The dayslong bombing campaign of Beirut’s southern suburbs has complicated U.S.diplomatic efforts for a truce.Hezbollah began near daily rocket attacks on Israel last October in solidarity with its ally, Hamas, in Gaza.

The conflict intensified in mid-September when Israel stepped up attacks on Hezbollah, culminating in a ground invasion of Lebanon on Oct.1.The war has driven roughly one million Lebanese from their homes, and Hezbollah’s rocket attacks on the north of Israel have displaced tens of thousands of Israelis.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe....