Israeli airstrikes target Beirut's Dahieh district, smoke rises over residential area

2026-03-04 - 09:42

Fresh Israeli airstrikes pounded Beirut's Dahieh district on Wednesday, sending plumes of smoke over the residential area as the military campaign against Hezbollah targets intensified. The strikes, captured in images from the Lebanese capital on March 4, 2026, represent the continuation of an offensive that has now expanded to include both targeted assassinations and widespread bombardment of southern Beirut and Lebanese territory. Dahieh under fire Dahieh, a densely populated southern suburb of Beirut, has long served as a Hezbollah stronghold and has been repeatedly targeted throughout the current escalation. Wednesday's airstrikes add to a mounting death toll that Lebanese health officials reported had reached at least 52 on Monday alone, with over 150 injured in previous waves of attacks. The residential nature of the district raises ongoing concerns about civilian casualties as the campaign proceeds. Expanding conflict The Beirut strikes come as Israel's confrontation with Hezbollah expands alongside the broader regional conflict triggered by US-Israeli attacks on Iran that began Saturday. The Israeli military claimed Tuesday to have assassinated senior Hezbollah official Reda Khazai in a Beirut strike, describing him as responsible for military buildup and coordination with Tehran. Hezbollah has responded with rocket and drone attacks on northern Israel and the occupied Golan Heights. Regional war widens With the Strait of Hormuz closed to maritime traffic, oil markets disrupted and Gulf states facing over 1,000 Iranian attacks, the conflict now spans multiple fronts from Lebanon to the Gulf. Israel has issued evacuation warnings for dozens of southern Lebanese towns and launched a ground incursion into the country's south, signaling that the campaign against Hezbollah may be protracted.