The Israel Defense Forces said on Sunday afternoon it attacked the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist organization in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
“The IDF struck a Hezbollah terror infrastructure site in the area of the Dahiyeh,” the military stated. “Details to follow.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said they ordered the attack “in response to Hezbollah’s firing toward Israeli territory.”
Some 1,100 Israelis in the Upper Galilee border communities of Kibbutz Yiftah and Moshav Ramot Naftali were sent running for bomb shelters on Sunday morning after two “projectiles” were launched toward the Jewish state, according to the IDF.
The rockets were intercepted, the military said. No injuries were reported in the incident.
The attack came 30 minutes after roughly 2,000 civilians in the Galilee Panhandle towns of Metula and Kibbutz Misgav Am rushed to bomb shelters amid fears of a drone attack, the IDF stated.
The army subsequently announced that “a suspicious aerial target was identified in the area in which IDF soldiers are operating in Southern Lebanon.” It added, “The incident has concluded. No injuries were reported.”
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.
Katz last week said that Jerusalem held off on major strikes in Beirut at the request of the United States, but would attack the Lebanese capital if Hezbollah continued to breach the ceasefire, which was renewed on June 4 during the fourth round of the historic direct talks between Jerusalem and Beirut in Washington.
“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,” he said on June 2, referencing the suburb where the Iranian-backed terror group maintains a large presence.
Katz claimed the Trump administration “endorsed the principle” set out by Israel and warned the Lebanese government and other parties that the IDF could respond in Beirut.
He said Jerusalem’s stance was reflected in a phone call Netanyahu held with Trump.
