Israel has begun bombing the Lebanese capital Beirut for the first time since the ceasefire that ended Israel's last war with Hezbollah in November.
Associated Press journalists in Beirut heard a loud explosion and saw smoke billowing from the area Israeli forces had promised to hit.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his army's attack on Beirut's southern suburbs was an “example” of Israel's “intent” to act against its northern neighbor.
“We will not allow even the slightest shelling of our populated areas,” Mr. Netanyahu said in a statement on Friday.
“We will vigorously enforce the ceasefire, we will attack all of Lebanon to counter any threat to the State of Israel, and we will ensure that all of our residents in the north return safely to their homes.”
Following the strike, the Israeli army said it had attacked a Hezbollah drone storage facility in the Dahieh area, which it described as a key Hezbollah base.
Israel claims Hezbollah is using civilians as human shields.
The area that was attacked is a residential and commercial area located in close proximity to at least two educational institutions.
It came after the Israeli army on Friday urged people to evacuate some Beirut suburbs, vowing to take retaliatory action in response to strikes it said were launched from Lebanon into northern Israel.
The Lebanese government has ordered the closure of all schools and universities for the day in the southern Beirut suburb of Hadath.
Shots were heard in some areas of the southern suburbs urging people to leave their homes, and many residents were seen leaving the area in cars and on foot.
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 firing rockets, drones and shells at Israel the day after Hamas launched an attack from G on October 7, 2023.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
