Israel launches first heavy bombardment on Beirut since November ceasefire

CAIRO – 28 March 2025: Israeli forces on Friday conducted their first heavy strike on Beirut since the ceasefire that ended the war on Lebanon in November, targeting a building in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital.

Earlier that day, the Israeli army issued an evacuation order for the neighborhood in anticipation of strikes that followed two alleged rocket launches from Lebanon over the past week.

‼️This is what #Israel’s “warnings” look like—charred vehicles, collapsed buildings, smoke rising from what were once homes.
No military targets. Just another civilian neighbourhood erased under the lie of self-defense.
Video via @Al_Basheer1 pic.twitter.com/1SertsuKai

— Hala Jaber (@HalaJaber) March 28, 2025

Since October 2023, Israel and Hezbollah had exchanged cross-border fire and Israel invaded southern Lebanon a year later, before the eventual ceasefire took effect.

Hezbollah has denied involvement in the rocket launches on Friday and on March 22, calling the Israeli claims a pretext for continuing military action in the Arab country.

The rocket launch on March 22, which targeted the town of Metula, prompted retaliatory Israeli strikes that killed several people in southern Lebanon.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a warning to Lebanon after Friday's strikes, asserting, “If there is no quiet in Kiryat Shmona and the Galilee communities, there will be no quiet in Beirut either.”

Katz held Lebanon responsible for any fire directed toward the Galilee.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam cautioned last week against renewed military operations along the southern border, warning that they could risk dragging the country into another war.

He instructed his Minister of National Defense, Michel Mansi, to implement “all necessary security and military measures to ensure that only the state has the authority to decide matters of war and peace,” according to a statement from his office.