Beirut on the run as half a million displaced by renewed Israeli strikes

More than 500,000 people were displaced as Israeli bombings hit Beirut and southern Lebanon, with the army ordering evacuation of Beirut’s southern suburbs and the area south of the Litani River. Hundreds of thousands fled toward safer areas; casualties included at least 217 killed and 798 injured. Hezbollah fought in the south, while life continued in Beirut’s Christian areas and rents surged as refugees sought shelter, highlighting a nation under renewed stress from ongoing conflict.