Around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, Israeli jets bombed the Sfeir neighborhood of Beirut’s southern suburbs, without warning and despite a cease-fire in place between Israel and Hezbollah. 3 were killed and 4 were wounded in the airstrike according to the ministry of heath
BEIRUT – The Israeli military said early on Tuesday that it attacked a Hezbollah militant in Beirut’s southern suburbs, a few days after it had carried out a strike there, further testing a shaky four-month ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-aligned group.
“The strike targeted a Hezbollah terrorist who had recently directed Hamas operatives and assisted them in planning a significant and imminent terror attack against Israeli civilians,” the army added in a statement.
Witnesses said airplanes were heard flying low over the Lebanese capital and loud blasts were heard across the city.
The November U.S.-brokered truce halted the year-long conflict and mandated that southern Lebanon be free of Hezbollah fighters and weapons, that Lebanese troops deploy to the area and that Israeli ground troops withdraw from the zone. But each side accuses the other of not entirely living up to those terms.
The ceasefire has looked increasingly flimsy lately. Israel delayed a promised troop withdrawal in January and said in March that it had intercepted rockets fired from Lebanon, which led it to bombard targets in Beirut’s southern suburbs and southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah has denied any involvement in the rocket firings.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would continue to attack anywhere in Lebanon to counter threats and enforce a ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah.
3 killed and 4 wounded in attack
Lebanon’s Ministry of Health reported that three were killed and four were wounded in the Israeli airstrike that targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Smotrich quits to reclaim his Knesset membership
In a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announces his resignation as a cabinet minister and his resumption of his seat as a member of Knesset for his far right Religious Zionism party, before being reappointed to his ministerial roles.
By reclaiming his status as an MK, Smotrich would push Otzma Yehudit MK Yitzhak Kroizer out of parliament. When Amichai Eliyahu became heritage minister in 2023, Kroizer became an MK under the so-called Norwegian Law, which allows ministers and deputy ministers from large factions to resign from the Knesset, with their seats filled by members of their parties.
In a statement, Religious Zionism says that the move comes in response to Otzma Yehudit chief and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s “violation of the agreements” between him, Smotrich, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party.
(Reuters