Hezbollah launched strikes against Israel on Monday, saying it was avenging the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Israel responded with airstrikes on Beirut and southern Lebanon, and Lebanese officials criticised the assaults while seeking to keep the country out of a wider regional war.
Lebanon’s health ministry reported 31 dead in Israeli strikes on the Hezbollah-controlled southern Beirut suburbs and parts of southern Lebanon. Residents fled the southern suburbs on foot and by car as roads became clogged. More than a dozen powerful explosions rattled the capital beginning about 2:40 a.m. (00:40 GMT).
The clashes expanded a wider Middle East confrontation that erupted after the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday. Hezbollah, formed in 1982 with backing from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, is one of Tehran’s main regional allies.
Israel blamed Hezbollah for the escalation after the group said it had fired rockets and drones to avenge “the pure blood” of Khamenei and in response to what it called repeated Israeli attacks. The Israeli military reported no injuries or damage on the Israeli side.
The attack marked Hezbollah’s first strike on Israel since the 2024 war, and Israel’s bombardment of the southern suburbs was its heaviest action there since that conflict. “Hezbollah opened a campaign against Israel overnight, and is fully responsible for any escalation,” Israeli Chief of the General Staff Eyal Zamir said. He later warned of “many prolonged days of combat ahead,” saying Israel had launched an offensive campaign against the group.
Lebanese state officials criticised the rocket fire. President Joseph Aoun condemned the Israeli strikes but warned against allowing Lebanon to be used as a platform for wars “we have nothing to do with,” saying that would expose the nation to danger. Aoun said the state would not permit a repeat. State media said the public prosecutor ordered security forces to arrest those who fired rockets after a call from Justice Minister Adel Nassar.
Hezbollah’s weapons have long divided Lebanon, a country still shaped by a 1975–1990 civil war, and calls for the group to disarm grew after the 2024 conflict. That war left Hezbollah weakened, its leader Hassan Nasrallah killed along with thousands of fighters, the article said. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam called the rocket launches irresponsible and said they endangered Lebanon’s security.
Following the initial strikes, Israel warned residents in dozens of southern and eastern Lebanese villages to evacuate. The Israeli military said it had targeted Hezbollah sites across Lebanon, including senior members in the Beirut area. Hezbollah said it had aimed at an Israeli missile-defence facility south of Haifa; Israel said several projectiles that crossed from Lebanon landed in open areas and one was intercepted by the Israeli air force.
Since a U.S.-backed ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon in 2024, Israel has regularly struck what it identifies as Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, accusing the group of trying to rearm. The recent strikes were Israel’s first on the southern suburbs since it killed Hezbollah military official Ali Tabtabai in November.
Lebanon’s presidency said on Saturday that the U.S. ambassador had told officials Israel would not escalate against Lebanon provided there were no hostile acts from the Lebanese side.
