BEIRUT: The Israeli military launched strikes on Lebanon, including the capital Beirut, to target Hezbollah, it said on Monday, after Tehran-backed Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
The Israeli military said that "in response to Hezbollah's projectile fire "Israeli forces had "begun striking targets of the Hezbollah terrorist organisation across Lebanon".
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it fired rockets and drones "in retaliation for the pure blood of... Ayatollah Imam Sayyid Ali al-Husseini Khamenei... and in defence of Lebanon and its people, and in response to the repeated Israeli attacks".
This is the first attack claimed by Hezbollah on Israel since a November 2024 ceasefire agreement aimed at ending a year of war between the two sides. Israel has since carried out regular strikes on Lebanon, which it usually says have targeted the group.
An AFP journalist heard several loud explosions in Beirut early on Monday (March 2).
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported Israeli strikes across Lebanon, starting with Beirut's southern suburbs where Hezbollah holds sway.
The NNA also reported "major displacement" from Beirut's southern suburbs and the south of the country as residents tried to escape the areas.
The Israeli military in a later statement confirmed it had struck Hezbollah fighters in the Beirut area and a another in southern Lebanon.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the attacks on Israel were "irresponsible and suspicious".
Without naming Hezbollah, Salam said his government would "take all necessary measures to stop the perpetrators and protect the Lebanese people."
Lebanese authorities had repeatedly said they do not wish to involve their country in the outbreak of conflict in the region, which started after a US-Israeli attack on Iran.
That prompted a wave of missile and drone attacks from the Islamic republic on Israel and Gulf nations that host US bases. - AFP
