 "Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, March 28, 2025. Image- AP")
Israel launched an airstrike on Beirut for the first time since the November ceasefire that ended its latest conflict with Hezbollah. The strike targeted a Hezbollah drone storage facility in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb considered a stronghold of the terrorist group.
The Israeli military said the attack followed warnings for residents to evacuate, accusing Hezbollah of using civilians as human shields. While Israel has carried out near-daily strikes in southern Lebanon, this marks its first assault on the Lebanese capital since hostilities paused last year.
‘Will ‘strike everywhere in Lebanon’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Friday that Israel will “strike everywhere in Lebanon against any threat”, after the first strike on south Beirut since a November ceasefire with militants Hezbollah.
“The equation has changed… we will not allow any fire on our communities,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “We will continue to enforce the ceasefire with force, strike everywhere in Lebanon against any threat to the State of Israel, and ensure that all our residents in the north return safely to their homes,” he added.
Under the ceasefire, Israeli forces were supposed to withdraw from all Lebanese territory by late January. The deadline was extended to Feb. 18, but Israel has remained in five border locations while carrying out dozens of strikes on what it said were Hezbollah targets in southern and eastern Lebanon. Last week, Israeli airstrikes on several locations in Lebanon killed six people.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam called the Beirut strike “a dangerous escalation” and French President Emmanuel Macron said it violated the truce.
UN special envoy for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert called the cross-border exchange of fire “deeply concerning” and urged restraint by all sides.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“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.
With inputs from agencies