Deadly Israeli strike rocks Beirut as border fighting escalates

JERUSALEM/BEIRUT – Israel said its military attacked Hezbollah targets in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday after the Iran-aligned armed group fired into Israeli territory, and the Lebanese state news agency said two people were killed.

The Israeli military said earlier that Hezbollah had launched three projectiles towards communities in northern Israel, calling it a blatant ceasefire violation.

“The IDF has now attacked terrorist targets of the Hezbollah terrorist organization in the Dahiyeh neighbourhood of Beirut, in response to Hezbollah’s firing into Israeli territory,” a joint statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said.

US and Iran close to agreeing deal 

Two people were killed and four others wounded in the strike, which targeted an apartment in Dahiyeh, state news agency NNA reported.

Lebanese security sources said the attack appeared to be a targeted strike with two missiles. The Israeli military said it conducted a “precise” strike on a Hezbollah command centre.

There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah on the Israeli statements, but the group said it launched missiles and drones towards Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.

Last week, an Israeli strike on Dahiyeh triggered an exchange of fire between Israel and Iran that threatened to derail a US-Iran deal that would end the wider war.

Washington and Tehran appear to be close to a deal to end the more than three-month-long conflict that disrupted energy supplies and rattled the global economy, with US and Pakistani leaders predicting it could be signed on Sunday.

Iran has long made the cessation of fighting in Lebanon a condition for any wider agreement with the United States.

“Israel will not tolerate firing into its territory,” Netanyahu said in a post on X after the attack.

Southern Lebanon 

The Israeli military had issued a wide-scale evacuation warning earlier on Sunday for residents of at least 30 towns and villages in southern Lebanon.

Israeli forces have occupied swathes of southern Lebanon, and Israel says it is seeking to dismantle Hezbollah infrastructure on its borders.

Fighting with the Iran-backed group has not halted in the area despite the Lebanese government holding ceasefire talks with Israel in Washington.

Hezbollah has rejected the negotiations and said any ceasefire with Israel should secure an end to all hostilities, including in southern Lebanon and the withdrawal of Israeli troops.

Earlier this month, Israel said fighting in south Lebanon would continue and warned Lebanese residents against moving back to the south.

Hezbollah entered the war by firing at Israel on March 2, two days after the United States and Israel began airstrikes against Iran.

Israel said it would respond forcefully and has since carried out airstrikes that have killed thousands in Lebanon and displaced more than a million people.