Muhammed Nuri ErdoganThe Israeli army struck the southern suburbs of Beirut on Friday for the first time since the November 27 ceasefire. The targeted building is believed to be a drone storage facility, according to Israel, a claim denied by the Lebanese president, who was visiting Paris. Emmanuel Macron also called the strikes “unacceptable.”
This is a first since the entry into force of a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel, announced the National News Agency (ANI, official).
For the Lebanese president, visiting Paris, “everything indicates” that “Hezbollah is not responsible” for the latest rocket attacks toward Israel. Joseph Aoun, however, promised an investigation into the origin of these attacks.
Shortly after his statement, the Lebanese army announced that it had discovered rocket launchers in the south of the country used to target Israel early in the morning. In a statement, the army said it had “identified the rocket launch site in the Qaaqaiyat al-Jisr area,” which lies just north of the Litani River, the area from which Hezbollah is supposed to withdraw, about thirty kilometers from the Israeli border. It added that it had “opened an investigation to determine the perpetrators of the attacks,” for which no one has claimed responsibility.
Emmanuel Macron deemed the Israeli strikes “unacceptable” and “in violation of the ceasefire.” “The strikes are unilateral actions that betray a given promise and play into Hezbollah’s hands,” he said. He announced that he would speak by phone with his American counterpart, Donald Trump, “in the coming hours,” and with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu within two days.
Panic and traffic jams
The strike came in the Hadath neighborhood shortly after the Israeli military called for an evacuation of the area following the unclaimed rocket attack on Israel earlier in the morning.
“People [present] in the Hadath neighborhood” must evacuate the area around “Hezbollah installations,” wrote the Israeli army’s spokesman for the Arabic-speaking public, Avichay Adraee, on his X account , pointing to a building in red on a map.
#عاجل ‼️ انذار عاجل للمتواجدين في الضاحية الجنوبية في بيروت وخاصة في حي الحدث
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) March 28, 2025
🔸لكل من يتواجد في المبنى المحدد بالأحمر وفق ما يُعرض في الخارطة والمباني المجاورة له: أنتم تتواجدون بالقرب من منشآت تابعة لحزب الله
🔸من أجل سلامتكم وسلامة أبناء عائلاتكم أنتم مضطرون لإخلاء هذه… pic.twitter.com/ezFT6kYSv6
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam called on army commander Rodolphe Haykal to “act swiftly to […] identify the perpetrators of the irresponsible act of rocket fire, which threatens Lebanon’s security and stability,” his press office said. Hezbollah denied being behind the rocket fire.
The Israeli army raid caused panic in the region, a Hezbollah stronghold. Frightened parents rushed to bring their children home from closed schools, AFP correspondents reported.
A huge traffic jam has formed at the gates of the southern suburbs, with many residents of this area, which was heavily bombed during the war between Israel and Hezbollah, trying to flee, according to AFP correspondents.
One dead and at least 18 injured, including children
The Israeli army had earlier announced that it was carrying out strikes against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, bordering Israel.
Israeli strikes left one dead and 18 injured, including three children, in the village of Kfar Tebnit, according to the Lebanese news agency Ani.
Images filmed by AFP on Friday morning showed smoke rising over the Lebanese village of Khiam, near the border, while schools closed in several localities, notably in the Nabatiyeh region, following Israeli threats.
Safety of residents
On Friday, the Israeli army announced that two “projectiles” had been fired from Lebanon, one of which was intercepted and the second of which fell on Lebanese soil.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz immediately threatened: “If there is no calm in Kiryat Shmona and the Galilee communities,” in northern Israel, “there will be no calm in Beirut,” he said.
“The Lebanese government bears direct responsibility for any firing into the Galilee. We will not allow a return to the reality of October 7. We will guarantee the safety of the residents of the Galilee and will act forcefully against any threat,” Israel Katz said.
Meeting in Paris
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun was in France on Friday to meet with President Emmanuel Macron , who affirmed his support for Lebanon and called on the Israeli government to exercise restraint.
This was the new Lebanese president’s first official visit to the West since his election in January, to which Paris contributed greatly in the hope of initiating a process of political and economic reforms in the crisis-hit country.
Reaffirming his “unwavering friendship” for Lebanon and his support for President Aoun, the French head of state spoke of the international community’s preparatory work towards “initial financial aid for the reconstruction” of the country.
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