Israeli warplanes strike targets in Beirut’s southern suburbs

The Israeli military on Friday struck Hezbollah militia targets in Lebanon following the firing of two projectiles into northern Israel, which the army said it intercepted.

“A short while ago, the IDF struck a terrorist infrastructure site,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) wrote on its Telegram channel.

It said the places hit were “in the area of Dahieh, a key Hezbollah terrorist stronghold in Beirut.”

Two explosions were heard and black smoke could be seen, dpa reporters at the scene confirmed.

It was not immediately clear whether there were any casualties.

Israel sends warning drones prior to strike

The Hezbollah-run al-Manar television station reported three warning drone strikes before the big attack took place.

Local media reports showed at least two buildings levelled to the ground following the attack.

Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic spokesman, issued a warning, shortly before the strike, to residents of the al Hadath neighbourhood on the outskirts of Beirut’s southern suburbs, a stronghold of Hezbollah, to evacuate certain buildings in the area.

This was the first warning by the Israeli army to residents in Beirut’s southern suburbs since the ceasefire was implemented in November.

Shortly after the warning came, people were seen rushing out of buildings near the area the Israeli army said would be targeted.

Lines of cars were seen leaving al Hadath area, according to an eyewitness. People were panicking as parents rushed to pick their children up from school, a dpa reporter observed.

Earlier the IDF said “two rockets were fired from Lebanon towards Israel. One of the rockets was intercepted, while the second fell inside Lebanese territory,” Avichay Adraee, the Arabic spokesman of the Israeli army said on X.

Hezbollah: It’s not us

Hezbollah has denied any links with the rocket firing.

Warning sirens were heard in areas of northern Israel which are close to the Lebanese border, Lebanese security sources said.

The sources said two loud explosions were heard across southern Lebanon.

The same sources told dpa the Israeli army retaliated by shelling a series of villages in southern Lebanon.

Israeli shells fell on Qaqaait al-Jisr, Khiam and Kfar Kela earlier on Friday. Israeli drones were also heard flying over villages in several areas of southern Lebanon and the capital Beirut.

The Lebanese Civil Defence and Health Ministry said four people were killed and at least four others were wounded in the Israeli shelling in southern Lebanon.

Lebanese, French officials condemn the strike

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salan, in a new statement after the strike in southern Beirut, warned of a “dangerous escalation.”

Salam condemned the attacks on “civilians and safe residential areas,” the state news agency NNA reported.

He added that schools and universities are also located there.

Israel must stop its violations of the ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah and withdraw remaining troops from Lebanon as soon as possible, he said.

After a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the Israeli action.

Writing on X, he deplored any attempt to plunge Lebanon back into a “spiral of violence.” He called on the international community to act swiftly.

The attacks on the Beirut suburb and the “non-compliance with the ceasefire are unilateral actions that break a given promise and play into Hezbollah’s hands,” Macron said.

“At this point, I can tell you that there have been no activities that would justify these strikes.”

A ceasefire has been in place in Lebanon between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia since November.

The deal paused more than a year of intense cross-border shelling, which intensified when Israel launched a ground invasion of southern Lebanon in October.

The conflict broke out following the October 7, 2023 attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza.

Under the terms of the ceasefire, Israeli troops are due to completely withdraw from southern Lebanon. However, they have remained at five strategic points, which the Lebanese government considers a violation of the ceasefire agreement.