Israel launched airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs Sunday, targeting what it said were Hezbollah facilities in response to rocket fire launched their way, just days after a fragile ceasefire with Lebanon was renewed.
Multiple explosions rocked the Dahieh district, a Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut, after the Israeli military issued evacuation warnings for residents in parts of the area. Lebanese state media reported strikes on at least two buildings, though there were no immediate reports of casualties.
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The Israeli military said the strikes targeted Hezbollah command centers and operational centers and were carried out in response to rocket fire launched toward northern Israel. Hezbollah had not immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel would continue acting against threats originating from Lebanon.
“In accordance with the directive of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, the IDF has just struck terrorist headquarters in the Dahieh district of Beirut, in response to Hezbollah’s firing at Israeli territory,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement on X.
The ceasefire agreement called for a halt in hostilities and the establishment of security zones in Southern Lebanon, though Hezbollah was not a party to the talks and quickly rejected key provisions of the deal. Iranian-backed Hezbollah has insisted that any end to the war in Lebanon would be brokered through talks between the U.S. and Iran.
A statement from the U.S., Israel, and Lebanon said only the “two sovereign governments” could negotiate, in a pointed rebuke at Hezbollah.
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“All countries reaffirmed that the future of the relationship between Israel and Lebanon must be decided by the two sovereign governments,” a joint statement said. “They rejected any attempt, by any state or non-state actor, to hold Lebanon’s future hostage.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aaghchi had previously warned Iran would respond to any Israeli aggression in Beirut, resulting in a “full-scale resumption of the war.”
