Israel strikes Beirut for first time since Hezbollah ceasefire

JERUSALEM, Mar 28 (AFP): Israel has conducted an airstrike on Beirut for the first time since signing a November ceasefire with Hezbollah.
Huge smoke plumes rose from the site of the attack in the southern suburb of Dahiyeh and residents reported hearing the explosion from the mountains surrounding the Lebanese capital.
Israel carried out air strikes in southern Lebanon Friday after its defence minister threatened Beirut over new rocket fire, rattling an already fragile truce that largely ended more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah.
It was the second time rockets had been fired from Lebanon since the November ceasefire, and the second time the Iran-backed Hezbollah denied involvement.
"If there is no quiet in Kiryat Shmona and the Galilee communities, there will be no quiet in Beirut either," Israel Katz said of the northern towns towards which the rockets were launched.
A statement from Israel's military said two "projectiles" were fired from Lebanon towards Israel, with one intercepted and the other falling inside Lebanon.
It later announced it was "striking Hezbollah terror targets in southern Lebanon".
In a statement on Telegram, Hezbollah said it "confirms the party's respect for the ceasefire agreement and denies any involvement in the rockets launched today from the south of Lebanon".
Katz said Lebanon's "government bears direct responsibility for any fire toward the Galilee".
A November ceasefire largely ended the war between Israel and Hezbollah, although Israel has continued to conduct occasional strikes in south Lebanon despite the truce.
Friday's rocket fire came hours after Israeli strikes killed six people in Lebanon's south, with Israel saying it had targeted Hezbollah members.
Lebanon's official National News Agency reported Israeli shelling on Friday around several southern villages including Naqura, where the UN peacekeeping mission is based.
The NNA also reported raids on the Jezzine region north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of the border with Israel.
Schools were closed in the Nabatiyeh area, an AFP correspondent said, as were some in the coastal city of Tyre, which was hit by a deadly Israeli strike last weekend.
"I decided to bring my children to school in spite of the situation, but the administration told me they had closed it after the Israeli threats and I had to take them back home," father of four Ali Qassem told AFP.
Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel on October 8, 2023 in support of its ally Hamas following the Palestinian group's unprecedented attack on southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.
The cross-border hostilities ultimately escalated into all-out war, with Israel conducting an intense bombing campaign in Lebanon and sending in ground troops.
The November truce brought a partial Israeli withdrawal, although its troops still hold five positions in south Lebanon that are deemed strategic, even after the pullout deadline.
Last weekend saw the most intense escalation since the truce, with Israeli strikes in the south killing eight people, according to Lebanese officials.
UNIFIL, the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon, said at the time it was "alarmed by the possible escalation of violence" following rocket fire.
Hezbollah had also denied any involvement in that rocket attack, calling Israel's accusations "pretexts for its continued attacks on Lebanon".