Israel reports targeting Hezbollah missile sites in southern Beirut

On Sunday, the Israeli military announced that it targeted a building in southern Beirut used for storing precision missiles belonging to Hezbollah. This strike further tested the fragile ceasefire between Israel and the Iranian-backed militant group.

Live footage from Reuters captured a large plume of smoke rising from the site nearly an hour after the Israeli army had ordered residents of the Hadath neighborhood to evacuate. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz stated that Hezbollah’s precision missiles represent a serious threat to Israel. Hezbollah has not yet responded.

This latest attack adds to the tensions surrounding the U.S.-brokered ceasefire that concluded last year’s devastating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon, remarked on X that the strike in southern Beirut’s suburbs has instilled panic and fear of renewed violence among those yearning for a return to normalcy.

She urged all parties to refrain from actions that could further jeopardize the ceasefire and the implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the month-long war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has called on the United States and France, as guarantors of the ceasefire agreement established in November, to pressure Israel to cease its attacks.

He warned that Israel’s ongoing actions threaten to destabilize the region and compromise its security. Earlier this month, an Israeli airstrike resulted in the deaths of four individuals, including a Hezbollah official, marking the second Israeli strike on a Hezbollah-controlled area in Beirut within five days.

Hostilities in southern Beirut have intensified amid a wider escalation in the region, as Israel resumes strikes on Gaza following a two-month ceasefire, while the United States targets the Iranian-aligned Houthis in Yemen to deter their assaults on Red Sea shipping.

Israel has inflicted significant damage on Hezbollah during the conflict, resulting in the deaths of thousands of its members, the destruction of a large portion of its weaponry, and the removal of key leaders, including Hassan Nasrallah. Hezbollah has refuted any involvement in the recent rocket fire from Lebanon directed at Israel.