Israel strikes Hezbollah in Beirut following cross-border attack

The IDF confirmed that it “precisely struck a Hezbollah infrastructure site in Dahiyeh, Beirut.” Several steps were taken to mitigate harm to Lebanese noncombatants, including the use of precise munitions and aerial surveillance, it stressed.

The strike targeted a command centre “used by Hezbollah terrorists to advance terrorist attacks against the citizens of the State of Israel and IDF soldiers operating in Southern Lebanon,” the military said.

The Iranian-backed terrorist organisation launched three drones on Sunday morning that exploded inside Israel in two separate incidents, the IDF said. No injuries were reported.

Earlier this month, Iran launched several missile barrages at Israel in defense of Hezbollah, shattering a fragile ceasefire that had been in place since April 8. The attack followed an IDF precision strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs in response to Hezbollah fire on Israel.

Sunday’s escalation coincided with reports that the US and Iran were close to signing a memorandum of understanding that would launch formal negotiations to end the war between the two countries. 

Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesperson for the Iranian parliament’s Foreign Policy and National Security Committee, said in response to the renewed IDF attack on Sunday that the Islamic Republic should “discipline the Zionist regime” before reaching a diplomatic agreement with the United States.

“If this rabid dog is not controlled, it will bite your leg before the ink is dry on the agreement,” the senior lawmaker tweeted. Gen. Mohammad-Jafar Asadi, deputy chief of the Khatam al-Anbiya operational headquarters of Iran’s Armed Forces, said the Dahiyeh strike “will not go unanswered”.

The IDF said it is prepared for potential Iranian missile fire on Israel in the coming hours following the strike on Hezbollah in Beirut earlier. The military said IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir is conducting an assessment “with all relevant commanders”.

Netanyahu and Katz have repeatedly warned that the IDF would respond in kind to attacks by Hezbollah across the border.

“Yesterday, the prime minister and I, together with the IDF, led a move to establish the equation that Dahiyeh in Beirut will be treated the same as Israel’s northern communities,” Katz declared on June 2.

Katz said the Trump administration “endorsed the principle” set out by Jerusalem and warned the Lebanese government and other parties that the IDF could respond in Beirut.

“If attacks on the communities cease, or if attacks continue and we strike Dahiyeh in Beirut, then this equation will have been established,” he reiterated.

Katz reiterated Jerusalem’s stance on June 8, after the Iranian-regime and its terrorist proxies fired several volleys of ballistic missiles at the Jewish state in response to Israeli strikes in Beirut.

“The fate of Dahiyeh in Beirut is the same as the fate of the northern communities,” he said. “Any attack on the northern communities will lead to an attack on Dahiyeh.”

Hezbollah renewed its rocket and drone attacks on Israel on March 2, following the targeted killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on the first day of “Operation Roaring Lion” on Feb. 28.

In response, Israel launched a broad aerial campaign against Hezbollah targets and expanded military operations in Southern Lebanon aimed at preventing cross-border attacks on Israeli communities.

Netanyahu has accused Hezbollah of “essentially disintegrating” the April 17 ceasefire with Lebanon, which was renewed on June 4, during the fourth round of the historic direct talks between Jerusalem and Beirut in Washington.