Lebanon: Israeli jets bombard Beirut suburb on eve of Eid alAdha
Israeli air strikes rocked the southern suburbs of Lebanon's capital on Thursday night, on the eve of the Eid al-Adha holiday, marking the latest major violation of the November ceasefire agreement.
Lebanese news agency Ani said Beirut was hit by about 10 strikes, two of which were "very violent" and saw thousands fleeing their homes.
The Israeli army said it had struck the southern suburbs targeting forces belonging to Hezbollah's "air unit".
About an hour before the strikes began, Avichay Adraee, the Arabic-speaking spokesman for the Israeli army, told residents to evacuate a radius of at least 300 meters around four buildings located in the Al-Hadath, Haret Hreik, and Bourj el-Barajneh neighbourhoods.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun denounced the attacks as a "flagrant violation" of the ceasefire that ended a year of conflict last year.
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Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Friday there would "be no calm in Beirut, nor order or stability in Lebanon without security for the State of Israel.
"The agreements must be respected, and if you don't do what is necessary, we will continue to act, and with great force," he said.
Hezbollah and Israel were engaged in cross-boundary skirmishes for nearly a year after the latter began its war on Gaza in October 2023.
In September 2024, Israel escalated the fight by exploding thousands of pagers used by Hezbollah members before launching a widespread bombing campaign across the country followed by a ground invasion.
More than 3,900 Lebanese people were killed, including the Hezbollah's long-time leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Following the establishment of a ceasefire on 27 November, Israel occupied five strategic points in the south of Lebanon.
It has also carried out repeated air strikes in the south.
According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project (ACLED), an American NGO which tracks violence, Israel carried out at least 330 aerial attacks between 27 November and 10 January 2025.
The Lebanese army said on Friday that it had begun to coordinate with the committee responsible for supervising the ceasefire - of which Paris and Washington are members - "in order to prevent aggression".
But Israel "insisted on violating this agreement and refusing to cooperate with the committee," it said.
"[This] only weakens the role of the committee and that of the army," it added
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