Israeli jets have bombed Lebanon’s Beirut after Hezbollah launched what it said was a rocket and drone attack against a military base near Haifa in northern Israel.
The Lebanese group said early on Monday that its attack was in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, “in defence of Lebanon and its people” and “in response to the repeated Israeli aggressions”.
“The resistance leadership has always affirmed that the continuation of Israeli aggression and the assassination of our leaders, youth and people gives us the right to defend ourselves and respond at the appropriate time and place,” the group said in a statement.
“The Israeli enemy cannot continue its fifteen-month-long aggression without a warning response to halt this aggression and withdraw from the occupied Lebanese territories.”
The violence marks a major escalation in what is becoming a regional war between the United States and Israel on one side and Iran and its allies on the other.
Israel was quick to respond with air strikes in southern Beirut. Local news outlets also reported Israeli attacks in several villages in south Lebanon as well as the Bekaa Valley in the east of the country.
The Israeli military said it was “vigorously attacking Hezbollah” throughout Lebanon.
“The [Israeli military] will act against Hezbollah’s decision to join the campaign, and will not allow the organisation to pose a threat to the state of Israel and harm the residents of the north,” it said.
“The Hezbollah terror organisation is destroying the state of Lebanon. Responsibility for the escalation lies with it, and the [Israeli military] will respond forcefully to this harm.”
The escalation could deepen the crisis in Lebanon, which has been suffering from economic and political woes for years.
Hezbollah and Israel reached a ceasefire in November 2024, but Israel has been violating the truce and carrying out attacks across the country almost daily.
Last year, the Lebanese government issued a decree to disarm Hezbollah, but the group rejected the decision, arguing that its weapons are needed to protect the country against Israeli expansionism.—al Jazeera
