Lebanon's government calls for Hezbollah disarmament amid renewed Israel conflict, as international leaders including Macron warn against broader war.

The United Nations on Friday demanded swift investigations into fatal Israeli strikes across Lebanon to decide if they complied with international law.The Israeli military announced Friday that it had carried out 26 waves of strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs in the past four days.

The BBC sees troops and tanks massing near the border, as speculation mounts that Israel is planning a full-scale ground invasion to fight Hezbollah.

After meeting with the chief of staff of the French military in ⁠Beirut, Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun asked Macron to intervene to "prevent ⁠the targeting of the southern suburbs following threats by the Israeli army against its residents," the Lebanese presidency said in a separate statement.

Renewed fighting and sweeping evacuation orders in Lebanon have forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross, with many leaving on foot with few belongings and nowhere to go.

The previous war had been initiated by Hezbollah in solidarity with the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023. This time, many Lebanese were less willing to accept Hezbollah’s decision to engage Israel.

The country is waiting to see if the government seizes on this moment to disarm the Iranian-backed armed group and how the militants will respond.

By Laila Bassam BEIRUT, March 5 (Reuters) - Hezbollah has deployed elite fighters to confront Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, sending them back into the border region from which they withdrew after a war in 2024,

Lebanon is facing a rapidly escalating crisis. Tens of thousands have been forced to flee. Learn what's happening and how to help people in Lebanon right now.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday appeared to rule out talks with Iran absent its “unconditional surrender.” Israeli warplanes pounded Beirut and Tehran as Iran launched another wave of retaliatory strikes against Israel and Gulf countries on the seventh day of the war.