Israel launched an attack on the Lebanese capital Beirut for the first time since the ceasefire that ended the last war between Israel and Hezbollah in November.
Associated Press journalists in Beirut heard a loud explosion and saw smoke rising from the area where Israeli forces had promised to strike.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his army's attack on Beirut's southern suburbs was an “example” of Israel's “determination” to act against its northern neighbor.
“We will not allow even the slightest shelling of our communities,” Mr. Netanyahu said in a statement on Friday.
“We will vigorously enforce the ceasefire, attack all of Lebanon in response to any threat to the State of Israel, and ensure that all of our residents in the north can return home safely.”
Following the strike, the Israeli army said it had targeted a Hezbollah drone storage facility in the Dahieh area, which it described as an important Hezbollah stronghold.
Israel claims Hezbollah is using civilians as human shields.
The area hit by the shelling is a residential and commercial area in close proximity to at least two educational institutions.
It came after the Israeli army on Friday urged people to leave parts of a Beirut suburb, vowing to retaliate for what it said were attacks from Lebanon into northern Israel.
The Lebanese government has ordered the closure of all schools and universities in the southern Beirut suburb of Hadath for one day.
Shots were heard in parts of the southern suburbs urging people to leave their homes, and many residents were seen leaving the area on foot or in cars.
The strike on Beirut was the first since the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah came into effect on November 27, 2024, although Israel has since carried out near-daily strikes on targets in southern Lebanon.
The Israeli military, in an Arabic-language post on the X social media site (formerly Twitter), called on people to leave buildings in Beirut's southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a significant presence.
Hezbollah began launching rockets, drones and shells into Israel the day after a Hamas attack from Gaza sparked a war there on October 7, 2023.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
