The number of people displaced in southern Lebanon as a result of Israeli airstrikes may be approaching half a million, according to Lebanese Foreign Minister Bou Habib, who stressed that "the war in Lebanon will not help the Israelis return to their homes, and negotiations are the only way to do so."

Hezbollah on Tuesday confirmed the death of one of its top commanders, Ibrahim Kobeisi, who was killed in an Israeli strike in a southern Beirut suburb.