Israel attacks southern Beirut after alleged Hezbollah drone fire

The Israeli military has attacked targets in Beirut’s southern suburbs in what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said was a response to Hezbollah firing into northern Israel, raising concerns over the impact on delicate peace negotiations between the United States and Iran.

Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on Sunday that the military had “just carried out strikes in the Dahiyeh district of Beirut against terrorist targets belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organisation, in response to Hezbollah’s firing toward Israeli territory”.

Lebanon’s National News Agency said at least two people were killed and four wounded.

The Israeli military said Hezbollah had launched three projectiles towards northern Israel in what it described as a blatant ceasefire violation.

The latest escalation in Lebanon risks derailing negotiations on a memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran.

President Donald Trump said the deal would be agreed on Sunday, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also said it would be completed within 24 hours and signed electronically. Pakistan has been acting as a key mediator in the talks.

Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei, meanwhile, had said a deal was close but would not be signed on Sunday.

During the negotiations, Iran has made clear that attacks on southern Beirut were a red line. When Israel last struck the Beirut suburbs a week ago, Iran responded by firing missiles at Israel, and Trump demanded restraint from Netanyahu in an angry phone call.

“We’re waiting for an official response from Iran, but from what we understand, this is a serious development as far as Iran’s view is concerned. We’ve seen that the situation in Lebanon, what’s going on there, is an integral and central part of the peace deal,” said Al Jazeera’s Almigdad Alruhaid, reporting from Tehran.

“The latest broader ceasefire, on April 8th, was linked to the situation in Lebanon, and Iranian officials have repeatedly said that the situation in Lebanon will not be separated from this deal. So it could be a huge setback for Iran,” he said.

“We know that right now there’s a Qatari delegation in Tehran working to resolve disputes, helping to move things forward, progressing or narrowing the gap between both sides and this could be changing the picture for this latest memorandum of understanding.”

After Trump told Netanyahu a week ago to stop attacking southern Beirut, the Israeli prime minister posted on X: “I spoke this evening with President Trump and told him that if Hezbollah does not stop firing at our cities and citizens – Israel will strike terrorist targets in Beirut.”

On Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that while a deal has “never been closer”, Iran would not leave Lebanon alone or accept a deal that allows Israel to continue military strikes.

Forced displacement orders

Earlier on Sunday, Israel issued forced displacement orders covering 29 locations in southern Lebanon – 25 in Nabatieh district and four in Sidon district – with people in those communities told to flee north of the Zahrani River immediately.

An Israeli military spokesperson said the forced displacement orders on Sunday included the towns of Jbaa, Houmin al-Tahta, Ansar and Kfar Sir.

“Once again, the focus is on that southern city of Nabatieh,” said Al Jazeera’s Heidi Pett, reporting from Beirut. “It used to be a large, thriving city. It’s now home to one of the only hospitals still functioning in the south, and it has been pounded by Israeli air strikes over the last couple of weeks, leading to widespread destruction.”

Meanwhile, there is anxiety in Lebanon at the prospect of an Iran-US deal, she said. After the US and Iran announced a temporary ceasefire in April, Lebanon suffered its deadliest day of the war with more than 350 killed.

“The last time that the US and Iran agreed to a ceasefire deal, Israel said that Lebanon wasn’t part of that agreement and sought to make that extremely clear by striking more than 100 locations in Lebanon in the span of 10 minutes,” Pett said. “And the concern is that that is their stance once again, that they’re not party to this deal, that they will not be withdrawing.”