BEIRUT: Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday, killing three people, in response to what it said was Hezbollah fire at northern Israel, while its military also carried out broader strikes across southern Lebanon.
The latest escalation came amid expectations that a United States–Iran deal to end the Middle East war could be imminent. However, Iranian chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said there was “no point” in continuing peace talks with Washington after the Israeli strike, further clouding the diplomatic outlook.
Tehran has maintained that any ceasefire in Lebanon must be included as part of any broader agreement to end the regional conflict, linking the Lebanon front to ongoing negotiations.
Israel and Hezbollah have been engaged in conflict since March 2, when the Iran-backed group fired rockets at Israel in response to the killing of Iran’s supreme leader in US-Israeli strikes days earlier.
Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) reported that a strike hit an apartment in the Ghobeiry neighborhood of Beirut’s southern suburbs, an area known as the Hezbollah stronghold of Dahiyeh.
An AFP correspondent at the scene reported smoke and dust rising from a heavily damaged apartment, with debris scattered across the street as residents searched for survivors in an atmosphere of panic along a busy commercial road.
Lebanon’s civil defense agency confirmed that three people were killed and six others were wounded in the strike.
Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have warned that Israel would strike southern Beirut if Hezbollah continues to target northern Israeli communities, a position they say is supported by the United States.
Earlier on Sunday, the Israeli military said three suspected Hezbollah drones struck northern Israel in separate incidents, although no casualties were reported.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, claimed it had carried out several attacks on Israeli troops operating in southern Lebanon but denied responsibility for any strikes on northern Israel.
Israel previously struck Beirut’s southern suburbs last week after claiming it intercepted rockets fired by Hezbollah into Israeli territory, escalating tensions in the capital.
Following that strike, Iran launched missiles toward Israel, prompting Israeli retaliatory attacks before both sides later paused direct fire.
Iran had repeatedly warned it would respond if Beirut was targeted, heightening fears of broader regional escalation.
Netanyahu’s office said on Sunday that Israeli forces carried out strikes in Beirut’s Dahiyeh district targeting Hezbollah positions in response to rocket fire into Israeli territory.
The Israeli military said separately that it conducted a “precise strike” on a Hezbollah command center in the area, describing it as part of ongoing operations.
Two far-right Israeli ministers also called for intensified strikes earlier on Sunday. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on social media that attacks on northern Israel should trigger a firm response in Beirut, urging full implementation of what he called the “Dahiyeh Doctrine.”
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir also called for heavy retaliation, saying every violation should be met with force and that Dahiyeh should “tremble” in response to attacks.
A senior Iranian military official warned that the Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs would not go unanswered, further raising tensions between regional actors.
Brigadier General Mohammad Jafar Asadi, deputy commander of Iran’s highest military command, told Defa Press that the attack would face retaliation, saying such actions “will not go unanswered.”
Lebanon’s NNA also reported Israeli strikes on more than 20 locations across southern Lebanon, including the city of Nabatieh, as the military expanded its operations in the region.
The strikes occurred both before and after the Israeli army issued evacuation warnings for nearly 30 villages in southern Lebanon ahead of further raids.
In recent days, Israeli military activity has increasingly focused on the Nabatieh region, where operations have intensified.
A military source told AFP that a small Lebanese army unit positioned in Kfar Tibnit near Nabatieh evacuated the area a day earlier following an Israeli incursion, though the Lebanese army remains present at its Nabatieh barracks.
An AFP correspondent also observed around a dozen vehicles, including military trucks, heavy machinery, and civilian cars, leaving Nabatieh on Sunday amid ongoing tensions.
In April, Israel and Lebanon began rare direct talks in Washington aimed at halting hostilities, with a fifth round of negotiations scheduled later this month.
Hezbollah has rejected these direct talks and dismissed a conditional ceasefire proposal that would require it to stop attacks without guaranteeing Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory.
Lebanon’s authorities estimate that Israel’s airstrikes and ground operations since March 2 have killed more than 3,700 people, underscoring the heavy human toll of the ongoing conflict.