Iran-backed Hezbollah fired rockets from Lebanon into Israel for a second day on Sunday, as the Israeli army advanced into southern Lebanon.

The conflict is part of a broader regional escalation between the United States, Israel and Iran, while Israeli airstrikes have killed dozens of people, according to Lebanese authorities.

On Monday, thousands of residents fled southern villages, while in Beirut, displaced families gathered in Martyrs' Square and along the Mediterranean coast. The attacks have hit southern Lebanon, the eastern Bekaa Valley and the southern suburbs of Beirut, known as Dahihe - the heartland of Hezbollah and the Shiite community.

Lebanon’s Social Affairs Minister Haneen Sayed said about 65,000 people had registered in shelters, while another 10,000-20,000 had been displaced and were staying with friends and relatives. “The situation is difficult. Memories of the war with Israel in 2024 are still fresh,” Sayed said. Air strikes have destroyed at least five residential buildings in the southern suburbs of Beirut, including a hotel in Hazmieh, without warning. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Ketz said the army had advanced at least one kilometer to seven positions in southern Lebanon and that the operation was being escalated with pressure from the ground and air.

Hezbollah and its ties to Iran
Hezbollah, formed in 1982 during the Lebanese Civil War, is a Shiite militant group inspired by Iran’s Islamic Revolution. The group has historically been a supporter of Iranian policy and is regularly funded by Tehran, worth about $700 million a year, according to the US government. Analysts see this round of violence as predictable, as Israel has warned of operations against Hezbollah after a 2024 ceasefire. Hezbollah’s decision to attack has prompted immediate reactions in Lebanon, with the government banning the group’s military activities and demanding the surrender of its weapons. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam described the attack as a challenge to “the will of the majority of Lebanese.”

According to the Council on Foreign Relations, Hezbollah “strongly opposes Israel and Western actors in the Middle East” and acts as a proxy for Iranian interests. The group, which once aimed to establish an Islamist regime in Lebanon, has also become involved in the country’s mainstream politics, adapting its goals over time.