Washington: US President Donald Trump announced late on Monday that Israel and Hezbollah have consented to reduce the intensity of their military operations following his direct consultations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and indirect communications with the Lebanese militant organisation through intermediaries.

The president disclosed the geopolitical breakthrough in a Truth Social post following a telephonic conference with the Israeli leader.

Reflecting on the outcome of the dialogue, Trump stated that “there will be no Troops going to Beirut, and any Troops that are on their way, have already been turned back.”

The American head of state clarified that Hezbollah had "agreed that all shooting will stop — That Israel will not attack them, and they will not attack Israel.”

The executive intervention emerged hours after the Israeli government authorised targeted airstrikes against the southern outskirts of Beirut. The bombardment followed a major ground offensive executed the prior day, during which Israeli infantry forces advanced to their deepest operational threshold within Lebanese territory in 26 years, prompting Hezbollah to discharge a salvo of rockets toward northern Israel, including the periphery of the coastal municipality of Haifa.

A joint administrative statement distributed by Netanyahu and Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz affirmed that the offensive manoeuvres within Beirut's southern suburbs were commanded in direct response to persistent violations of the established truce by Hezbollah, citing what they characterised as “attacks against our cities and citizens.”

An Arabic-language military spokesperson for the Israel Defence Forces subsequently published a directive on the social media platform X, instructing local residents to evacuate the urban periphery. The official warned that if Hezbollah maintained its offensive posture against northern Israeli communities, the military would execute further strikes against the Dahiyeh district, a densely populated suburban zone where Hezbollah commands substantial public allegiance.

Although Hezbollah had initially agreed to a cessation of hostilities when the formal truce was enacted in mid-April, the militant faction resumed its cross-border operations following subsequent Israeli military actions in Lebanon, which Jerusalem defended as defensive countermeasures. The ongoing theatre of war has introduced a significant complication into diplomatic efforts aimed at expanding a tentative ceasefire in the broader Iranian conflict, as Tehran insists that any comprehensive regional accord must encompass Lebanon.

Following Monday's military warning, significant civilian populations began a rapid evacuation of the Dahiyeh district, creating severe traffic congestion along major thoroughfares exiting the suburb.

According to reporting by Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency, nocturnal Israeli aerial bombardments in southern Lebanon resulted in six civilian fatalities, including a Syrian national in a village adjacent to the city of Nabatiyeh. Additional strikes targeted municipalities positioned near the historic Beaufort Castle and other urban centres secured by Israeli ground forces in recent days.

The Lebanese Health Ministry reported that a Monday afternoon airstrike in the maritime city of Tyre inflicted catastrophic structural damage upon the Jabal Amel Hospital. Official video documentation distributed by the ministry depicted distressed women and children inside the medical facility, where the building's windows had been entirely shattered by the concussive force of the blast.

Concurrently, the Israeli military reported that its air defense systems successfully intercepted two projectiles launched from Lebanese territory toward sovereign Israeli space, alongside an unidentified aerial threat detected within the operational zone of its southern Lebanese infantry contingents. No military casualties were reported from the specific engagements.

Hezbollah confirmed it executed a series of rocket and missile bombardments against northern Israel on Sunday. Early Monday, the group announced it had engaged Israeli infantry units positioned in Zawtar al-Sharqieh, located immediately north of the Litani River, and conducted strikes against what it identified as Israeli military infrastructure in Tiberias, situated dozens of miles south of the international border.

With inputs from AP