Earlier on Sunday, the Israeli military said in a statement that it had also struck in southern Lebanon and killed a Hezbollah operative who “advanced Hezbollah’s attempts to re-establish itself” in the area.
Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the top United Nations official in Lebanon, criticized the attack near the capital on Sunday. “Today’s strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut generated panic and fear of renewed violence among those desperate for a return to normalcy,” she said on social media, urging “all sides to halt any actions that could further undermine” the cease-fire.
While the Israeli military has continued to strike in southern Lebanon with some frequency since the cease-fire went into effect, attacks near Beirut had stopped until about a month ago. In late March, Israel struck near the capital after a rocket was fired at Israel, prompting fears that the cease-fire could unravel.
Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel from Lebanon shortly after Hamas, its ally, led a bloody attack from the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023, setting off the war in Gaza. After nearly a year of low-level violence between Israel and Hezbollah, that conflict, too, escalated into full-scale war, including an Israeli ground invasion into Lebanon.
This month Morgan Ortagus, President Trump’s deputy Middle East envoy, visited Lebanon to discuss the cease-fire and Lebanon’s rebuilding needs. The total damage and economic loss from the war are estimated to be $14 billion, and Lebanon needs $11 billion to rebuild, the World Bank said last month, making the conflict the country’s most destructive since its long civil war ended in 1990.
The Lebanese government has pledged to bring all weapons in the country under its control, including those belonging to the militants, but it is not clear when — and how — it might do that. Hezbollah was severely weakened in the conflict but still has significant influence in Lebanon. The militant group has said it remains committed to the cease-fire with Israel.
Raja Abdulrahim contributed reporting.
