{"id":331885,"date":"2026-03-06T10:39:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T10:39:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/331885\/"},"modified":"2026-03-06T10:39:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T10:39:16","slug":"us-says-it-struck-iranian-drone-carrier-at-sea-israel-launches-intense-strikes-on-beirut-and-tehran-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/331885\/","title":{"rendered":"US says it struck Iranian drone carrier at sea; Israel launches intense strikes on Beirut and Tehran \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Main PointsIntense Israeli<\/a> air strikes pounded the capitals of Iran<\/a> and Lebanon<\/a> early today as the crisis in the Middle East<\/a> entered its seventh dayUS<\/a> says it struck Iranian drone carrier at seaIran fires missile and drone attacks into Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and BahrainUS defence secretary Pete Hegseth warns bombardment by US is \u201cabout to surge dramatically\u201dUN refugee agency warns the conflict in the Middle East is now a \u201cmajor humanitarian emergency\u201dIran delays naming new supreme leader due to security concerns, officials sayA second flight from Dubai<\/a> has brought Irish citizens homeKey ReadsPressure on Government<\/a> to say attack on Iran is a breach of international lawAnalysis:<\/a> Israel\u2019s escalation in Lebanon raises new questions over Hizbullah\u2019s survival<\/p>\n

Jack White – 10 minutes ago<\/p>\n

The United Nations \u200chuman rights chief plans to travel to Washington this \u200cmonth, he said on Friday, but expressed doubt he could \u200binfluence the development of the Middle East crisis amid mounting concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope to go to \u200bWashington DC later this month, and we will see \u2060what this will bring,\u201d \u200bVolker T\u00fcrk told reporters in Geneva.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have obviously been in \u2060touch, but \u200bto be honest, I \u200bdon\u2019t think it\u2019s in any way meaningful \u200cin terms of influencing \u200bthe current trajectory,” he added. <\/p>\n

T\u00fcrk urged international \u2060actors to rapidly \u2060de-escalate \u200bthe regional conflict, now into its seventh day after US-Israeli attacks on Iran. – Reuters<\/p>\n

\"FirefightersFirefighters respond at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Friday. Fresh strikes rocked Iran and Lebanon on March 6th, as Israel vowed to escalate to a new phase in the Middle East war that has spiralled rapidly throughout the region and beyond. Photograph: AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n

Jack White – 13 minutes ago<\/p>\n

Middle East conflict a \u2018major humanitarian emergency\u2019 \u2013 UN refugee agency<\/p>\n

Nearly \u200b100,000 people have been displaced within Lebanon and \u200btens of thousands \u2060of Syrian refugees there \u200chave \u200cfled back \u200bover the border, the UN refugee agency \u200csaid on Friday, calling \u2060the \u200bsituation in \u200bthe region \u200ca \u201cmajor humanitarian emergency\u201d.<\/p>\n

Around 96,000 people are currently sheltered in more than 400 facilities in Lebanon, while more than 33,000 Syrian refugees based in Lebanon have returned to Syria, according to UN figures.<\/p>\n

\"AA woman listens to her phone inside a school transformed into a shelter for displaced people in the town to Dekwaneh, north of Beirut on Thursday. Photograph: Joseph Eid \/ AFP via Getty Images \"ChildrenChildren play inside a school transformed into a shelter for displaced people in the town to Dekwaneh, north of Beirut on Thursday. Photograph: Joseph Eid\/ AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n

Jack White – 26 minutes ago<\/p>\n

Europe facing \u2018heightened\u2019 terrorism threat level \u2013 Europol<\/p>\n

Europe is now facing an increased level of threat from terrorism and \u201cviolent extremism\u201d in response to the US and Israel\u2019s war in Iran, a spokesman for Europol has told our Europe Correspondent Jack Power. <\/p>\n

The EU law enforcement agency said: \u201cThe terrorist and violent extremist threat level on EU soil is assessed to be heightened\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis may manifest itself through home-grown radicalisation by lone-actors. Rapid online dissemination of polarising content may accelerate short-term radicalisation pathways in EU-based diaspora and other individuals,\u201d it said. <\/p>\n

The Hague-based agency that helps European police forces co-operate to combat terrorism and other major crimes, warned there was also an increased risk of cyber attacks, like the online attack that crippled the Health Service Executive in 2021. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe conflict has immediate repercussions for serious and organised crime and terrorism in the EU,\u201d a spokesman for Europol said. <\/p>\n

\u201cKey risks are an elevated threat of terrorism and violent extremism, increased cyberattacks targeting EU infrastructure, a rise in conflict-themed online fraud schemes, and the spread of disinformation and influence campaigns,\u201d the spokesman said.<\/p>\n

Jack White – 30 minutes ago<\/p>\n

\u2018Significant increase in demand\u2019 for Russian energy resources amid war in Iran, Kremlin says<\/p>\n

The Kremlin said on Friday that the \u200bwar in Iran had fuelled demand for Russian energy products, a day after the US Treasury issued a 30-day waiver allowing India to \u200bbuy Russian oil currently stuck at sea.<\/p>\n

The conflict, which entered \u2060its seventh day on Friday, has left the Strait of \u200cHormuz, \u200ca \u200bcritical shipping passage all but shut, with countries around the world cut off from a \u2060fifth of global oil \u200band liquefied natural gas \u200bsupplies.<\/p>\n

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia has been \u200cand remained a reliable \u200bsupplier of oil and gas, both via pipelines and in \u2060liquefied form. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are seeing \u2060a \u200bsignificant increase in demand for Russian energy resources in connection with the war in Iran. Russia has been and remains a reliable supplier of both oil and gas \u2013 including pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas,\u201d Peskov told reporters.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt also remains capable of \u200cguaranteeing the continuity \u2060of all deliveries for which contracts have been concluded.\u201d<\/p>\n

Peskov declined to disclose possible volumes of Russian \u200coil supplies to India following Washington\u2019s waiver, which followed months of US \u200bpressure on New Delhi not to buy \u200bRussian oil.<\/p>\n

Jack White – 33 minutes ago<\/p>\n

Azerbaijan withdrawing diplomats from Iran <\/p>\n

Azerbaijan is withdrawing \u200cits diplomats from Iran for \u200btheir own safety, foreign minister Jeyhun \u200bBayramov said on \u2060Friday, a day \u200cafter \u200cBaku \u200bsaid four Iranian drones \u2060had \u200bcrossed its \u200bborder \u200cand injured four \u200bpeople in the Nakhchivan \u2060exclave.<\/p>\n

He \u2060said \u200bAzerbaijan was evacuating employees from its embassy in Tehran and \u200cits \u2060consulate general in Tabriz. – Reu\u2013ers<\/p>\n

Jack White – 51 minutes ago<\/p>\n

Large evacuation orders issued by Israel raise \u2018serious concern\u2019, says UN human rights chief <\/p>\n

Large scale evacuation orders issued by the Israeli army for southern Lebanon and Beirut\u2019s southern suburbs raise \u201cserious concern\u201d under international law, Volker T\u00fcrk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, has said.<\/p>\n

\"ResidentsResidents of Beirut’s southern suburbs flee from the area after the Israeli military threatened all of Dahiyeh with an evacuation order on March 5, 2026 in Beirut, Lebanon. Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon, launched missiles at Israel in what it said was retaliation for the joint US-Israeli war on Iran. Photograph: Daniel Carde\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

\u201cThese blanket, massive displacement orders we are talking here about hundreds and thousands of people,\u201d he told reporters in Geneva on Friday morning<\/p>\n

\u201cThis raises serious concern under international humanitarian law, and in particular when it comes to issues around forced transfer,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\"ResidentsResidents of Beirut’s southern suburbs flee from the area after the Israeli military threatened all of Dahiyeh with an evacuation order on March 5th, 2026 in Beirut, Lebanon. Photograph: Daniel Carde\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

Before launching air strikes, the Israel Defence Forces on Thursday issued forced evacuation orders for the whole population of Beirut\u2019s southern suburbs \u2013 home to some 500,000 people \u2013 sparking widespread panic.<\/p>\n

Traffic was at a standstill in the Lebanese capital on Thursday as people tried to flee.<\/p>\n

More than 80,000 people had registered as displaced in Lebanon as of Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\"PeoplePeople flee Beirut’s southern suburbs after the latest issued Israeli warning to the residents to evacuate on Thursday. Israel issued an unprecedented evacuation warning on March 5th for the entirety of Beirut’s southern suburbs, a stronghold of Hizbullah, sending residents in the district of hundreds of thousands of people fleeing in a panic. Photograph: AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n

Loud explosions heard in Tel Aviv<\/p>\n

Large booms rang out across Tel Aviv and other parts of Israel as Israeli defence systems attempted to intercept an Iranian rocket volley on Friday morning, Reuters reports.<\/p>\n

The Israeli military said on Friday it had identified missiles launched from Iran toward Israel and that air defence systems were operating to intercept the threat. <\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Kheibar missiles have been fired toward Tel Aviv on Friday as part of the 21st wave of its \u201cOperation True Promise 4\u2033.<\/p>\n

In a statement, it added that the new wave of attacks began with a combined missile and drone operation targeting sites in the heart of Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n

The Israeli military separately said it has begun an additional wave of air strikes in Beirut.<\/p>\n

\"SmokeSmoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted an area in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Friday. Fresh strikes rocked Iran and Lebanon on March 6, as Israel vowed to escalate to a new phase in the Middle East war that has spiralled rapidly throughout the region and beyond. Photograph: Ibrahim Amro \/ AFP via Getty Images Dubai residents told to seek \u2018immediate shelter\u2019 amid potential missile threats<\/p>\n

An alert was sent out on Friday by the Emirati government warning people in Dubai of \u201cpotential missile threats\u201d, the AFP news agency has reported.<\/p>\n

The mobile phone alert by the UAE\u2019s interior ministry urges people to seek shelter as the city faces retaliatory strikes from Iran.<\/p>\n

\u201cDue to the current situation, potential missile threats, seek immediate shelter in the closest secure building and steer away from windows, doors and open areas,\u201d the alert read.<\/p>\n

\"UKUK deputy prime minister pictured previously at 10 Downing Street in London. Photograph: Peter Nicholls\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

UK deputy prime minister David Lammy separately praised the work of MI5 and counter-terrorism police after four men were arrested on suspicion of aiding Iran by spying on the Jewish community in London.<\/p>\n

He told ITV\u2019s Good Morning Britain: \u201cIran is the biggest state sponsor of terrorism globally and sadly, that is in effect in our own society as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur intelligence services and counter-terrorism police have thwarted lots of action over the last few years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is now a live investigation, so I won\u2019t comment on that any further, except to thank our security staff and police for continuing to keep our people safe and doing everything they can where people would cause us harm and individuals in our country harm.\u201d \u2013 PA<\/p>\n

Royal Air Force (RAF) jets could legally strike Iranian missile sites being used to attack British interests in the Middle East, the UK\u2019s deputy prime minister has said.<\/p>\n

David Lammy stressed that RAF jets were currently only shooting down missiles and drones fired by Iran at allies in the region.<\/p>\n

But he said there was a legal basis for them to do more and strike directly at the Iranian bases being used to launch attacks.<\/p>\n

The UK has already given the US permission to use British bases to carry out defensive strikes against Iran\u2019s missile facilities.<\/p>\n

He told BBC Breakfast: \u201cIt is entirely legal to protect our people and protect our staff, and therefore all operational capability is available to us in those circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the UK had the satellite and intelligence capability to identify Iranian sites.<\/p>\n

Asked if the UK could fire at an Iranian base in anticipation of it launching an attack, he said: \u201cIt is my understanding that that would be legal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Defence secretary John Healey has not ruled out UK aircraft taking part in strikes on Iran, saying that \u201cas circumstances in any conflict change, you\u2019ve got to be willing to adapt the action you take\u201d.<\/p>\n

The UK has been criticised by allies over its response to the crisis, particularly over the defence of Cyprus and the RAF Akrotiri base which was struck by a drone.<\/p>\n

Air defence destroyer HMS Dragon is not expected to sail to the eastern Mediterranean until next week and France and Greece have deployed military assets to defend Cyprus.<\/p>\n

Asked if he was embarrassed, Lammy told Sky News: \u201cAbsolutely not … we have F-35s, Typhoons in the sky taking down missiles as we speak and that has happened over Jordan, it\u2019s happened over Qatar and of course, we will support nationals in the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s also right to say that we co-ordinate with allies, the French, the Germans. Cyprus is a Nato ally, so we co-ordinate also with other teams and other close allies on how we equip the area.<\/p>\n

\u201cHMS Dragon will be in the region in the coming weeks to further bolster and further support our air defences.\u201d \u2013 PA<\/p>\n

Mosque closed in Melbourne, Australia, after \u2018suspicious package\u2019 found<\/p>\n

A Melbourne mosque was closed on Friday and surrounding streets cordoned off after a suspicious package was found at the premises, its management said.<\/p>\n

The Islamic Council of Victoria, which houses a mosque and the offices of the peak Muslim body, made an urgent community announcement on Friday evening, saying its mosque was closed because a suspicious package had been identified. <\/p>\n

\u201cPolice have responded and have completely condoned off Jeffcott Street while they assess the situation. We ask all community members to avoid the area and follow police directions\u201d, the social media post said. <\/p>\n

Victoria Police confirmed officers were called to the ICV at about 4pm \u201cto conduct a safety check\u201d but were not able to confirm whether a package had been found. <\/p>\n

As of 6.30pm local time, officers remained on scene and the area cordoned off as a precaution, with minor traffic disruptions while the investigation was ongoing. <\/p>\n

All mosque events and activity were suspended. The centre had been due to host an Iftar dinner in celebration of Ramadan after sunset prayers. \u2013 The Guardian<\/p>\n

The Trump team\u2019s hyper-aggressive war rhetoric<\/p>\n

After nearly five days of war in the Middle East, Pete Hegseth boasted of the \u201csheer destruction\u201d US and Israeli forces were inflicting on their \u201cradical Islamist Iranian adversaries\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re toast and they know it,\u201d the US defence secretary said, adding: \u201cAnd we have only just begun to hunt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later, he said: \u201cWe are punching them while they\u2019re down, which is exactly how it should be.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Donald Trump\u2019s war against Iran, Hegseth\u2019s rhetoric casting the US as a righteous, ruthless predator is at the centre of a hyper-aggressive messaging strategy from the White House that has included a barrage of social media clips of the military operations to showcase American lethality and prowess.<\/p>\n

If you kill Americans \u2014 we will hunt you down, and we will kill you.<\/p>\n

Iran is learning the hard way that President Trump means what he says. pic.twitter.com\/1HvXraHZZs<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellASW) March 3, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Read more here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Four arrested in London on suspicion of spying on Jewish community for Iran <\/p>\n

Four men have been arrested on suspicion of aiding Iran\u2019s intelligence service by spying on locations and individuals linked to the Jewish community in London, the Metropolitan Police said. <\/p>\n

Detectives from Counter Terrorism Policing London said the men \u2013 one Iranian national and three dual British\/Iranian nationals, were detained shortly after 1am on Friday at addresses in Barnet and Watford as part of a pre-planned operation.<\/p>\n

Commander Helen Flanagan, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said: \u201cToday\u2019s arrests are part of a long-running investigation and part of our ongoing work to disrupt malign activity where we suspect it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe understand the public may be concerned, in particular the Jewish community, and as always, I would ask them to remain vigilant and if they see or hear anything that concerns them, then to contact us.\u201d \u2013 Reuters<\/p>\n

How is the Iran war causing heating oil prices to soar?<\/p>\n

There has been a dramatic rise in the price of home heating oil in Ireland over the past seven days.<\/p>\n

Consumer Affairs Correspondent Conor Pope explains the recent rise in home heating oil in Ireland. Video: Chris Maddaloni Strait of Hormuz ship traffic at near-complete halt<\/p>\n

Ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has ground to a near-complete halt as the Middle East conflict disrupts the key global artery for commodities from oil to fertilisers.<\/p>\n

Recent reviews of shipping signals in the strait \u201cindicates transits have reduced to single-digit levels, with only two confirmed commercial transit observed in the past 24 hours,\u201d the Joint Maritime Information Center said in note on Friday.<\/p>\n

The crossings involved cargo ships rather than oil vessels, according to the multinational naval advisory group focusing on the Middle East.<\/p>\n

The escalating war in the region has prompted dozens of fully laden oil and gas tankers to stay hunkered down within the Gulf. The frequency of attacks on ships in and around the strait remains high, making it too risky for energy tankers and their multimillion-dollar cargoes to attempt a transit. \u2013 Bloomberg<\/p>\n

Iran delays naming new supreme leader due to security concerns, officials say<\/p>\n

Iran has delayed the naming of a successor to its slain supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, out of security concerns following US and Israeli comments that the new leader could also be targeted, according to two Iranian officials.<\/p>\n

Khamenei\u2019s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, has emerged as a top contender for the post, but concerns over his security mounted following reports in the media that he may be the new face of Iran, said the two officials, who asked not to be named to discuss sensitive issues.<\/p>\n

\"MojtabaMojtaba Khamenei pictured in 2019. Photograph: Vahid Salemi\/AP <\/p>\n

Once Mojtaba Khamenei\u2019s name began to circulate as the favoured candidate to succeed his father, the US said he would not be acceptable and could be eliminated.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are wasting their time,\u201d US president Donald Trump told Axios on Thursday, adding that the former supreme leader\u2019s son is \u201ca lightweight\u201d and an \u201cunacceptable\u201d choice.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy in Venezuela,\u201d Trump said, referring to Delcy Rodr\u00edguez, the Venezuelan vice president who became interim leader after Washington captured the country\u2019s leader.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s defence minister, Israel Katz, said in a social media post Wednesday that any leader appointed by Iran to succeed Ali Khamenei would be \u201can unequivocal target for elimination\u201d.<\/p>\n

US and Israeli strikes have so far killed the ayatollah as well as top military commanders and figures involved in defence, but not clerics. The leaders of Iran\u2019s three branches of government, the presidency, judiciary and parliament, are alive. \u2013 The New York Times<\/p>\n

Israeli strikes target Iran as US warns of bombardment \u2018surge\u2019\"SmokeSmoke rises after an air strike in central Tehran, Iran, on March 6th, 2026. A joint Israeli and US military operation continues to target multiple locations across Iran since the early hours of 28 February 2026.
\nPhotograph: EPA – European Pressphoto Agency <\/p>\n

Intense Israeli air strikes pounded the capital of Iran early on Friday with the US apparently striking an Iranian drone carrier at sea, intensifying its campaign targeting the Islamic Republic\u2019s fleet of warships.<\/p>\n

Iran launched new retaliatory attacks in the Middle East at the end of a full week of bombardment, which US defence secretary Pete Hegseth warned was \u201cabout to surge dramatically\u201d.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s military said on Friday morning it had begun \u201ca broad-scale wave of strikes\u201d on Tehran, Iran\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n

Witnesses described the Israeli air strikes as particularly intense, shaking homes in the area. Others reported explosions around the Iranian city of Kermanshah in an area that is home to multiple missile bases.<\/p>\n

The Israeli military said strikes have already destroyed most of Iran\u2019s air defences and missile launchers.<\/p>\n

The war has escalated to affect countries across the Middle East and beyond.<\/p>\n

Early on Friday, Iran fired missile and drone attacks into Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, all countries that host US forces. There were no immediate reports of casualties.<\/p>\n

The war has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, more than 120 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. Six US troops have been killed.<\/p>\n

\"FireFire rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut early on March 6th, 2026. Photograph: Fadel Itani \/ AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n

The US military said early on Friday that it struck an Iranian drone carrier, setting it ablaze<\/p>\n

The US military\u2019s Central Command released black-and-white footage of the burning carrier. The Iranian military did not immediately acknowledge the attack.<\/p>\n

The drone carrier, the IRIS Shahid Bagheri, is a converted container ship with a 180 metre runway for drones.<\/p>\n

The vessel can travel up to 22,000 nautical miles without needing to refuel in ports, reports said at the time of its 2005 inauguration.<\/p>\n

Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, described the carrier as \u201croughly the size of a World War II aircraft carrier\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we speak, it\u2019s on fire,\u201d Cooper told reporters.<\/p>\n

Speaking alongside Cooper, Hegseth gave few details on Thursday when he promised an upcoming surge.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s more fighter squadrons, it\u2019s more capabilities, it\u2019s more defensive capabilities,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s more bomber pulses more frequently.\u201d<\/p>\n

Qatar\u2019s defence ministry reported it intercepted a drone attack targeting Al Udeid Air Base, which hosts the forward headquarters of US Central Command.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Saudi Arabia\u2019s defence ministry said it had intercepted and destroyed three ballistic missiles fired early on Friday toward Prince Sultan Air Base south of Riyadh, which hosts US forces.<\/p>\n

Air raid sirens sounded in Bahrain, where the interior ministry said Iranian strikes targeted two hotels and a residential building. It said there were no casualties. \u2013 AP<\/p>\n

Israeli air strikes carried out on Beirut overnight \"SmokeSmoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs Al-Jamous neighbourhood on March 6th, 2026. Photograph: Fadel Itani \/ AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n

Israel carried out heavy air strikes on the Hizbullah-controlled southern \u200csuburbs of Beirut overnight after ordering its residents to leave, while the Iran-backed group warned Israelis to leave \u200ctowns and villages at the frontier.<\/p>\n

Explosions and flashes lit up the night sky over the Beirut southern suburbs, Reuters \u200bfootage showed. The Israeli military said it had carried out 26 waves of strikes overnight in the southern suburbs, saying targets included Hizbullah\u2019s command centres and weapons storage facilities.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, an Israeli military spokesperson \u200btold residents of the southern suburbs to move east and north, posting a map showing four large districts of \u2060the capital he said they must leave, including areas adjacent to Beirut airport.<\/p>\n

Hizbullah, \u200cin \u200ca \u200bmessage published in Hebrew on its Telegram channel early on Friday, warned Israelis to leave towns within 5km of \u2060the border.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour military\u2019s aggression against \u200bLebanese sovereignty and safe citizens, the destruction of \u200bcivilian infrastructure and the expulsion campaign it is carrying out will not go unchallenged,\u201d Hizbullah \u200csaid.<\/p>\n

During fighting between Hizbullah and Israel \u200bin 2024, tens of thousands of Israelis were evacuated from towns in the border area \u2060but many have since returned. \u2060Israeli officials have previously \u200bsaid there are no plans to remove them for now.<\/p>\n

\"AA site of overnight Israeli air strikes is pictured in the southern suburbs of Beirut on March 6th, 2026. Photograph: AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n

Lebanon was pulled into the war in the Middle East on Monday, when Hizbullah opened fire, igniting a new Israeli offensive, with air strikes focused on Beirut\u2019s southern suburbs and on southern and eastern Lebanon.<\/p>\n

Israel has also ordered Lebanese to leave large areas of southern and eastern Lebanon.<\/p>\n

The Lebanese health ministry has reported 123 people \u200chave been killed and another \u2060683 wounded as a result of Israeli attacks this week. Its figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.<\/p>\n

There have been no reported fatalities \u200cin Israel as a result of Hizbullah attacks. \u2013 Reuters<\/p>\n