The office of the Prime Minister of Israel announced today that the country’s military has targeted the “command center” of the armed group Hezbollah in Dahiyeh, following instructions from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz.
Dahiyeh is a densely populated suburb in southern Beirut, Lebanon, considered a stronghold of Hezbollah, where the armed group consolidates its political and military apparatus.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s office stated that the attack was carried out in response to a Hezbollah assault on Israeli territory. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had previously reported intercepting two rockets launched from Lebanon.
The scene following Israel’s attack on the southern suburbs of Beirut on June 7. Photo: AFP
The Lebanese state news agency NNA reported that the Israeli military targeted two apartment buildings in southern Beirut, adding that the strike resulted in two fatalities and eleven injuries. Images from the scene showed large plumes of smoke rising from the area, with at least one apartment building severely damaged.
CNN cited an Israeli source stating that the country informed the U.S. prior to conducting the attack.
In a weekly cabinet meeting on the same day, Prime Minister Netanyahu emphasized that Israel would not allow its territory or communities to be attacked, asserting that Tel Aviv would take appropriate retaliatory measures.
This marks the third time the IDF has attacked Beirut since a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon came into effect in mid-April. The U.S. had prevented Israel from striking Beirut as part of this agreement. The previous two attacks were aimed at senior Hezbollah leaders.
Last week, under U.S. mediation, Israel and Lebanon announced a new ceasefire agreement, in which Tel Aviv committed not to target Beirut if Hezbollah forces did not attack Israeli civilians. The Lebanese armed group rejected this agreement.
Iran warned that an attack on Beirut would reignite a comprehensive conflict across the Middle East. Hezbollah is an Iran-backed force, and Tehran wants any agreement with Washington to include provisions for ending hostilities in Lebanon.
Location of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. Graphic: RANE
Lebanon has been drawn into the Middle Eastern conflict since March 2, when the armed group Hezbollah fired rockets at Israeli territory in retaliation for the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a U.S.-Israel airstrike.
Israel responded by conducting airstrikes across Lebanon and deploying troops into the southern part of the neighboring country. According to the AP news agency, Israel currently controls about one-fifth of Lebanese territory.
Pham Giang (According to CNN, AFP, AP)
