IDF Strikes Hezbollah Stronghold After Rocket Barrage Hits Israel

According to New York Post, the Dahiyeh district in southern Beirut serves as a primary Hezbollah stronghold where the terror group maintains extensive military and political operations.

Benjamin Netanyahu issued a firm statement rejecting any arrangement that would shield Hezbollah’s command centers from Israeli retaliation while the group continues launching attacks against Israeli population centers. The Prime Minister’s Office confirmed that Israel is expanding ground operations throughout Southern Lebanon, systematically dismantling Hezbollah positions and infrastructure.

Netanyahu declared that Israel remains committed to restoring security for residents in the country’s northern communities, drawing a parallel to the security achievements in southern Israel following operations against Hamas.

Israel Katz emphasized that Dahiyeh would face the same security calculus as northern Israeli towns, warning that calm in Beirut depends entirely on quiet along Israel’s northern border. The defense minister categorically rejected any scenario in which Israeli civilians endure rocket fire while the Lebanese capital remains untouched.

Ceasefire Violations Escalate

Multiple rocket alert sirens activated across northern Israel on Sunday, including in Haifa’s Krayot coastal suburbs—the first such warnings in that area since the April 17 ceasefire took effect, as New York Post reports.

Emergency response teams dealt with several incidents that day, including a rocket-sparked fire at Tel Dan Nature Reserve that was contained without casualties. Near Kiryat Shmona, at Moshav Beit Hillel, rescue crews responded to a direct rocket strike on a building, managing a gas leak and securing electrical hazards though no one was trapped.

Hezbollah resumed its rocket and drone offensive against Israel on March 2, following Israel’s targeted elimination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei during Operation Roaring Lion on February 28. Israel responded with extensive aerial strikes on Hezbollah positions and broadened ground operations in Southern Lebanon designed to prevent cross-border attacks.

Netanyahu Declares Ceasefire Effectively Collapsed

On April 26, Netanyahu accused Hezbollah of fundamentally destroying the fragile ceasefire arrangement, which had been extended for an additional 45 days. The prime minister stated that Israel’s operational decisions are guided exclusively by security requirements for Israeli forces and civilians, conducted according to understandings reached with Washington and Lebanese authorities.

Israeli Defense Forces have pushed considerably deeper into Lebanese territory in recent days, crossing the Litani River and advancing to within approximately 5 kilometers of Nabatieh, a significant urban center and Hezbollah bastion.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich characterized Jerusalem’s seizure of the Beaufort Ridge in southeastern Lebanon—the first Israeli control of that strategic position since 2000—as correcting historical security failures and flawed strategic thinking. The senior cabinet member emphasized on social media that the government is acting decisively to deliver the promised lasting security to northern residents.

Tehran Issues Threats Over Lebanon Operations

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told reporters in Tehran that the Islamic regime would employ all available measures to support Lebanon and what it calls the resistance against Israeli operations, which Tehran labels as illegal aggression.

The spokesman insisted that a ceasefire in Lebanon constitutes an essential precondition for any agreement with Washington aimed at ending regional hostilities.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi subsequently warned that Washington and Jerusalem would bear responsibility for any ceasefire violations, including in Lebanon. In a social media post, Araghchi claimed the temporary ceasefire between Iran and the United States applies across all fronts, including Lebanon, and threatened that violation on any front would nullify the entire arrangement.

Washington Proposes De-escalation Framework

Secretary of State Marco Rubio conducted separate discussions with Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, presenting a gradual de-escalation proposal, a U.S. official informed Reuters on Sunday.

The American plan envisions Hezbollah halting all attacks on Israel as an initial step, with Israel reciprocating by refraining from strikes on Beirut. This arrangement would theoretically create conditions for progressive de-escalation toward an effective cessation of hostilities, according to the official.

The official emphasized that the Trump administration does not expect Israel to absorb continued attacks on its civilian population without response.

With information from New York Post