Israel launches first strikes in Lebanon's Beirut since November ceasefire

Israel made good on its threat Friday to strike Beirut after rockets were fired towards its territory, rattling an already fragile truce in Lebanon that had largely ended more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah.

It was the second time rockets had been launched at Israel from Lebanon since the November ceasefire, and the second time the Iran-backed Hezbollah denied involvement.

After the attack, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said: “If there is no quiet in Kiryat Shmona and the Galilee communities, there will be no quiet in Beirut either.”

Hours later, the Israeli military carried out its first strike in the capital’s southern suburbs since the ceasefire after urging residents close to a building there to leave, warning they were “near Hezbollah facilities” and “must immediately evacuate”.

It said the attack targeted a “site used to store UAVs by Hezbollah’s Aerial Unit (127) in the area of Dahieh, a key Hezbollah terrorist stronghold in Beirut”, which Israel bombed heavily during its war with the group last year.

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Israel’s warning sparked panic in the densely populated area, with parents rushing to pick up their children from schools that quickly shut, AFP correspondents said.

Heavy traffic clogged roads as many residents tried to flee.

Israel’s military said early Friday two “projectiles” were fired towards Israel, with one intercepted and the other falling inside Lebanon.

It later announced it was “striking Hezbollah terror targets in southern Lebanon”.

Hezbollah said it “confirms the party’s respect for the ceasefire agreement and denies any involvement in the rockets launched today from the south of Lebanon”.

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The group’s leader, Naim Qassem, had been expected to give a speech in the southern suburbs later Friday, but Hezbollah said the event had now been cancelled.

Katz said Lebanon’s “government bears direct responsibility for any fire toward the Galilee”.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam urged his army chief “to act quickly to… uncover those behind the irresponsible rocket fire that threatens Lebanon’s stability” and arrest them.

Schools closed

The November ceasefire largely ended the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, although Israel has continued to conduct occasional strikes in southern Lebanon.

French President Emmanuel Macron called the reported Israeli air strike on Lebanon “unacceptable” and a “violation of the ceasefire”.

France is on the committee tasked with overseeing the ceasefire.

Friday’s rocket fire came after Israeli strikes Thursday killed six people in the south, with Israel saying it had targeted Hezbollah members.

NNA reported Israeli attacks in several parts of the south Friday. It said a strike on Kfar Tebnit southeast of Nabatiyeh killed one person and wounded 18, including three children.

It also reported shelling in Naqura, where the UN peacekeeping mission is based.

UN special envoy for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert called the flare-up “deeply concerning” and urged restraint.

“A return to wider conflict in Lebanon would be devastating for civilians on both sides of the Blue Line and must be avoided at all costs,” she said.

The NNA also reported raids on the Jezzine region north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of the border with Israel.

Schools closed in the Nabatiyeh area, an AFP correspondent said, as did some in Tyre which was hit by a deadly Israeli strike last weekend.

“I decided to bring my children to school in spite of the situation, but the administration told me they had closed it after the Israeli threats and I had to take them back home,” father of four Ali Qassem told AFP.

Escalation

Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel on October 8, 2023 in support of its ally Hamas following the Palestinian group’s unprecedented attack on southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.

The cross-border hostilities ultimately escalated into all-out war, with Israel conducting an intense bombing campaign in Lebanon and sending in ground troops.

The truce brought a partial Israeli withdrawal, although its troops still hold five positions in south Lebanon that are deemed strategic, even after the pullout deadline.

Last weekend saw the most intense escalation since the truce, with Israeli strikes in the south after rocket fire killing eight people, according to Lebanese officials.

Hezbollah had also denied any involvement in that rocket attack, calling Israel’s accusations “pretexts for its continued attacks on Lebanon”.

Under the ceasefire, Hezbollah was to pull its forces north of the Litani, and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.

Israel has also recently resumed intensive military operations in Gaza, shattering weeks of relative calm brought on by a January ceasefire with Hamas.