Israel Strikes Beirut's Dahiyeh After Rockets Hit Northern Israel

Israel struck Hezbollah command posts in Beirut's Dahiyeh district Sunday afternoon, hours after intercepting two rockets fired from Lebanon toward northern Israel, in what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed as a direct response to Hezbollah's ongoing ceasefire violations.

Lebanese media reported explosions in the Dahiyeh neighborhood, a Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut's southern suburbs, with the strikes carried out via three missiles targeting two apartments used as terrorist command posts, according to reports from the scene.

Netanyahu and Katz issued a joint statement confirming the operation: "The IDF has now struck terrorist command posts in the Dahiyeh neighborhood of Beirut, in response to Hezbollah fire toward Israeli territory."

The strikes came shortly after IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir announced he had approved operational plans to "further deepen the blow to Hezbollah" in Lebanon. The rocket interceptions earlier Sunday marked the first Hezbollah rocket attack on northern Israel since Wednesday and the first since a renewed ceasefire in Lebanon took effect last week.

The escalation marks a significant rupture in the fragile ceasefire arrangement. Last week, tensions had already been simmering between Israel and the United States over the Lebanon front, with Washington reportedly having pressed Israel to hold off on a broader Dahiyeh strike following Iranian pressure. Sunday's attack suggests Jerusalem has now moved forward regardless.

Netanyahu had foreshadowed the response just hours earlier, opening the weekly cabinet meeting with a direct warning: "We will not allow fire on our territory or our communities, and we will act accordingly."