Experts explain what an expanded Israeli ground offensive in Lebanon could look like and how it may impact civilians.

Israel and Hezbollah are rapidly escalating a new war that is hitting Beirut and pushing toward a wider ground fight.

With airstrikes rocking Beirut and Israeli troops advancing against Hezbollah, Lebanon’s government has broken a taboo by proposing the first direct talks with Israel in decades. But Lebanese officials say they want the fighting to end first — and it might be too late for that.

By Olivia Le Poidevin GENEVA, March 17 (Reuters) - Israeli airstrikes on residential buildings, displaced people and healthcare workers in Lebanon raise concerns under international law and may amount to war crimes,

The war is expanding into Lebanon, as an Israeli offensive to dismantle Hezbollah has displaced 800,000 people there, with more than 680 people killed.

Civilians who remain despite evacuation orders in Tyre – some unable to move, others defiant - are trying to continue their daily routines next to bomb sites.

Salam Issa Rida, 43, poses for a video at Camille Chamoun Stadium, where she is sheltering with her family, in Beirut, Lebanon, March 14, 2026. REUTERS/Emilie Madi . Earlier that

Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an IDF spokesperson, said in a briefing that Israeli troops were on Monday operating in new areas farther into southern Lebanon. A week ago the IDF said it had taken five "hardened positions" in Lebanon along Israel’s northern border with the country.