Israel strikes Beirut for second time since ceasefire, killing four

Israeli army claims attack was aimed at Hezbollah operative who posed 'immediate threat'

A damaged building after an Israeli strike in southern Beirut, early on April 1. AP

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Israel said it bombed the southern suburbs of Beirut on Tuesday, the second such attack in five days, killing at least four people, including a Hezbollah official and a woman, despite a fragile ceasefire that was reached with the militant group in November.

The Israeli military killed Hassan Bdair who "recently operated in co-operation with the Hamas terrorist organisation, directed Hamas terrorists, and assisted them in planning and advancing a significant and imminent terror attack against Israeli civilians", the military said in a joint statement with the Shin Bet domestic security agency. The Hezbollah operative posed “a real and immediate threat”, it added, also labelling him a member of Iran's Quds Force.

At least seven were wounded in a strike on a residential building in Dahieh, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

"The Israeli enemy raid on the southern suburbs left, according to a new report, three martyrs and seven wounded," the ministry said. The top three floors of the building were extensively damaged in the attack.

"The truth is that the enemy targeted residential apartments inhabited by civilians," said Hezbollah MP Ibrahim Moussawi.

Fellow Hezbollah MP Ali Ammar said the group was exercising "the utmost patience" but warned "this patience has its limits".

The strike came without a warning and shook residents of Beirut's southern suburbs awake, in a grim reminder of the daily bombings the area suffered last year from Israeli attacks.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the strike and said "Israel's persistence" in its violence required Beirut to work harder to mobilise international support to prevent further attacks.

"I ran from our apartment," said Zahra, who lives nearby. "Before and after, you could hear the jets above."

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the attack was a "clear breach" of a tenuous ceasefire deal that was agreed to last November. However, Israel has continued to bomb southern Lebanon daily.

"Another strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs this morning. With the Lebanese government taking positive steps and gradual returns to northern Israel, further escalation is the last thing anyone needs," said Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the senior UN official in Lebanon.

Israel on Friday carried out a strike in the Lebanese capital for the first time since the truce began, flattening a building in the Hadath district and seriously injuring one person. Friday's strike came after a forced eviction order from the Israeli military, in a morbid reminder of Israel's war on Lebanon last year.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had warned the country's military would "strike everywhere in Lebanon against any threat" in response to the rocket fire.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem on Saturday said the group would not accept continued Israeli attacks on Lebanon. “This aggression must end. Israel bombed Beirut's southern suburbs for the first time since the truce. We cannot allow this to continue,” Mr Qassem said in a televised address.

French President Emmanuel Macron said last Friday that the strikes on Beirut were "unacceptable".

Despite the ceasefire, Israel continues to occupy five positions in Lebanese territory. Under the terms of the truce, it was supposed to withdraw last month. It has also repeatedly carried out attacks on southern Lebanon, leaving vast parts of the region destroyed.

More than 4,000 people have been killed in Lebanon during the conflict that began on October 8, 2023, when Hezbollah launched rockets as part of a pressure campaign against Israel, which was beginning its offensive on Gaza.

Damaged cars and rubble after a building was hit by an Israeli strike in southern Beirut, early on Tuesday. AFP