IDF Strikes Beirut, Southern Lebanon After Rockets Fired at Northern Israel

Israel carried out airstrikes in Beirut and southern Lebanon on Friday following the launch of two rockets from Lebanese territory into northern Israel, marking the first attack on the Lebanese capital since the November ceasefire.

The IDF reported that one of the incoming rockets was intercepted, while the second failed to cross the border, landing within Lebanon. Air raid sirens were triggered in Kiryat Shmona and surrounding areas, including Tel Hai, Margaliot, and Misgav Am.

The launched were the second of its kind in a week, following the firing of three rockets at Metula on March 22—the first attack since the ceasefire agreement of November 27 ended more than a year of rocket attacks from the Hezbollah terror group.

A senior Hezbollah official, speaking to Lebanon’s Al-Mayadeen news outlet, denied the group’s involvement in the attack.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned the rocket fire, calling on security forces to identify and arrest those responsible for what he described as an “irresponsible act that threatens Lebanon’s security and stability.”

In response to the attack, the UDF launched strikes on Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon in the morning. Later in the day, the IDF targeted and destroyed a building in southern Beirut’s Dahiyeh neighborhood, an area known as a Hezbollah stronghold.

According to the IDF, the building was being used as a storage facility by Hezbollah’s Unit 127, which is responsible for launching explosive-laden drones and conducting aerial reconnaissance missions against Israel.

“Hezbollah deliberately embeds its military infrastructure within civilian areas, using Lebanese citizens as human shields,” the IDF said in a statement.

The IDF issued an evacuation warning before striking the Beirut building, and preliminary warning shots were fired before the final attack brought down the structure.

The military described Friday’s airstrikes as a direct response to the morning’s rocket fire, which it labeled a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire agreement.

Following the attack, Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz warned that “the fate of Kiryat Shmona is the same as the fate of Beirut,” adding that if peace is not maintained in Israel’s northern communities, “there will be no peace in Beirut either.”

“The Lebanese government is directly responsible for any aggression against the Galilee,” he asserted. “We will take decisive action to protect the people of northern Israel from any threats.”

Earlier this week, a Lebanese official revealed that Lebanese leaders had been engaged in urgent discussions with the United States and France to prevent an Israeli strike on Beirut in response to the March 22 rocket attack.

Since th ceasefire began, Israel has continued targeting Hezbollah terrorists, arguing that such actions are necessary to prevent further violations of the truce and that Lebanon has not done enough to enforce the terms of the ceasefire.