In a dramatic escalation of tensions, Israel’s air force unleashed a devastating strike on a residential building in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Friday, marking the first heavy bombardment of the Lebanese capital since a fragile truce in November halted a year-long conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. The powerful explosion reverberated across the city, sending a towering plume of thick black smoke into the sky and reigniting fears of a return to all-out war.
The assault came after the Israeli military issued an urgent evacuation order for the densely populated Hadath neighborhood, pinpointing a building it claimed was a Hezbollah stronghold. According to security sources cited by Reuters, the main strike was preceded by three smaller drone attacks on the structure, intended as warnings to residents. Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee released a map on social media, marking the target and alleging it housed assets of the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. “You are present near facilities belonging to Hezbollah,” the warning read, urging residents to flee at least 300 meters from the site.
Eyewitnesses reported chaos in the aftermath of the announcement, with gunfire erupting in the streets—apparently fired into the air as a signal to those unaware of the impending danger. Traffic clogged the roads as panicked residents scrambled to escape on foot and by vehicle. When the airstrikes hit, the targeted building was obliterated, leaving a smoldering crater and a scene of destruction that underscored the intensity of Israel’s renewed offensive.
The heavy bombing followed Israel’s interception of a rocket launched from southern Lebanon earlier on Friday, an act the Israeli military attributed to Hezbollah, though the group swiftly denied any involvement. Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed a fierce response, holding Lebanon accountable for attacks on the Galilee region in northern Israel. “We will ensure the security of our citizens and strike hard against any threat,” Katz declared. Lebanese media reported Israeli warplanes roaring over the country throughout the day, while a second rocket from south Lebanon landed in the region, further stoking the conflict.
This latest barrage dealt a severe blow to the ceasefire brokered in November, which had ended a brutal war sparked by the broader Israeli-Hamas conflict in Gaza. Under the terms of that deal, Hezbollah was to withdraw its arsenal from southern Lebanon, Israeli forces were to pull back, and the Lebanese army was to take control of the border region. The agreement had silenced Israel’s relentless airstrikes and ground incursions, as well as Hezbollah’s near-daily rocket barrages into Israel. Yet both sides have since accused each other of flouting the truce: Israel claims Hezbollah retains military outposts in the south, while Lebanon and Hezbollah counter that Israel continues to breach the deal with airstrikes and by maintaining troops on five strategic hilltops near the border.
Friday’s bombardment came amid a flurry of tit-for-tat hostilities. Just days earlier, on March 22, Israeli artillery and airstrikes pummeled southern Lebanon, killing at least eight people after rockets were fired into northern Israel—an attack Hezbollah also disavowed. A senior Hezbollah official condemned the incidents as “pretexts” engineered to justify Israel’s ongoing military operations, insisting the group remained committed to the ceasefire. “We have no link to these rocket launches,” the official stated, suggesting external forces might be stoking the flames of war.
The renewed violence in Lebanon coincides with Israel’s resumption of heavy combat against Hamas in Gaza, where a two-month ceasefire collapsed after failed negotiations to extend it. The dual-front escalation has heightened fears that the region is sliding back into a broader conflict, with the November truce now hanging by a thread. As Israeli jets continue to dominate Lebanese skies and artillery pounds the south, the prospect of peace grows ever more distant, leaving civilians on both sides of the border to bear the brunt of this unrelenting cycle of destruction.
