Israeli airstrike hits Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut amid fragile ceasefire

[MIDDLE EAST] Israel carried out an airstrike on a residential area in Dahiyeh, located in the southern suburbs of Beirut, on Sunday afternoon, despite a ceasefire agreement signed in November that had officially ended hostilities with the Hezbollah militant group.

Footage from the scene showed three bombs hitting a building in Dahiyeh, followed by rescue teams working to put out fires caused by the explosions. No casualties have been reported so far. Prior to the attack, the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning, which sparked panic as local residents fled the area.

The strike targeted Dahiyeh, a known Hezbollah stronghold that has long housed both the group’s political offices and military infrastructure. Analysts suggest that Israel’s decision to carry out a strike deep within Beirut, rather than near the southern border where much of the fighting has taken place since October 2023, signals a shift in strategy to further diminish Hezbollah’s capabilities.

In a statement on X, an Israeli army spokesperson claimed that Israeli warplanes had destroyed Hezbollah’s precision missile storage sites. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a joint statement declaring: “Israel will not allow Hezbollah to grow stronger and pose any threat to it – anywhere in Lebanon.”

This strike comes amid escalating regional tensions, with Israel also engaged in ongoing military operations in Gaza and sporadic clashes with Iranian-backed factions in Syria. Experts have warned that Israel's continued military actions in Lebanon could provoke a full-scale conflict with Hezbollah, which has previously vowed retaliation for any significant attack on Lebanese soil.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called on the United States and France – both key players in the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah – to exert pressure on Israel to halt its strikes on Lebanon. “The ongoing Israeli attacks on Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are unacceptable under any pretext,” Aoun said.

The airstrikes in the greater Beirut area on Sunday highlight the fragility of the November ceasefire agreement, which had brought an end to more than 13 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. The conflict began in October 2023 when Hezbollah fired rockets at northern Israel in support of Hamas’s attack on southern Israel a day earlier.

The ceasefire, brokered through U.S. and French mediation, was initially seen as a crucial step toward stabilizing Lebanon’s southern border, which had seen frequent exchanges of fire, displacing tens of thousands of people on both sides. However, the agreement lacked a clear enforcement mechanism, leaving both parties to accuse each other of violations.

In late September, Israel launched a ground invasion of southern Lebanon and conducted extensive airstrikes across the country, killing approximately 3,900 people and displacing nearly a million Lebanese civilians.

Although the ceasefire had been in place since November, Israel has continued to carry out hundreds of airstrikes in Lebanon, claiming that they target Hezbollah members and infrastructure.

Hezbollah has taken responsibility for a single rocket attack on northern Israel, calling it a “warning shot” since the ceasefire began. Two additional rockets were launched at Israel from Lebanon in March, with Lebanese authorities attributing them to a separate armed group.

Hezbollah has refrained from responding directly to Israel’s near-daily airstrikes, instead deferring to the Lebanese state. The group’s capabilities have been severely weakened, with many of its senior leaders killed during the two years of fighting. Hezbollah's restraint may also reflect internal divisions, as the group faces increasing domestic criticism in Lebanon for dragging the country into conflict with Israel. Lebanon’s economic collapse and political gridlock have left many citizens exhausted by further instability, placing pressure on Hezbollah to avoid escalation.

Under the terms of the ceasefire, Hezbollah is supposed to withdraw from the area south of the Litani River – about 18 miles from the Israel-Lebanon border – to be replaced by the Lebanese army, while Israel has pledged to withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon. Most Israeli troops have vacated the area, with the exception of five military positions it continues to maintain in Lebanon.

Ceasefire violations in southern Lebanon are meant to be referred to an independent committee for resolution by the Lebanese army, but Lebanese officials have criticized Israel for bypassing this process with unilateral strikes in Lebanon.

Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, stated that Sunday’s airstrike “generated panic and fear of renewed violence among those desperate for a return to normalcy.”

Since the conclusion of the fighting, Lebanon’s government has worked to regain control over arms within the country, under significant U.S. pressure to disarm Hezbollah. The Biden administration has repeatedly emphasized that Lebanon’s recovery, including access to international aid and investment, depends on limiting Hezbollah’s military influence. However, analysts warn that any attempt to forcibly disarm the group could ignite internal conflict, as Hezbollah remains deeply embedded in Lebanon’s political and security apparatus.

Previously, Hezbollah’s resources far outstripped those of the Lebanese army, and for two decades it dominated Lebanese politics, before the most recent Israel-Hezbollah war.

Hezbollah has claimed it is adhering to the ceasefire terms, including the withdrawal from southern Lebanon, but its leader, Naim Qassem, said in an April speech that the group “will not allow anyone to disarm it.”