The Israeli military struck southern Beirut on Friday for the first time since November, after Israel said that two projectiles had been fired from Lebanon.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it “struck a terrorist infrastructure site used to store UAVs by Hezbollah’s Aerial Unit (127) in the area of Dahieh, a key Hezbollah terrorist stronghold in Beirut.”
The IDF said Hezbollah “systematically embeds its terrorist infrastructure amidst the Lebanese civilian population, a clear example of Hezbollah’s cynical exploitation of Lebanese civilians as human shields.”
Shortly before the strikes, the IDF issued evacuation orders to Lebanese residents in a neighborhood in southern Beirut.
“To everyone located in the building marked in red on the map, as well as the surrounding buildings: you are in close proximity to Hezbollah-affiliated facilities,” the IDF said. “For your safety and the safety of your families, you must evacuate these buildings immediately and move at least 300 meters away, as indicated on the map.”
The area is home to a number of schools. The Lebanese government suspended classes on Friday after Israel’s evacuation order, telling “all students, teachers, and administrative staff” to leave the area, according to Lebanon’s state news agency NNA.
According to an Israeli official, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz and other officials were convening Friday for a security assessment about Lebanon.
The Israeli military said two projectiles were fired at Israel from Lebanon Friday, triggering warning sirens along the border and testing the shaky ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. In response, Katz had said that Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel and Lebanon’s capital Beirut “will be treated the same.”
“If there is no peace in Kiryat Shmona and the Galilee communities, there will be no peace in Beirut either,” he said, according to a statement from the defense ministry.
Hezbollah has denied involvement in rockets fired from southern Lebanon at Israel on Friday, saying it is committed to the ceasefire agreement.
Tensions have risen in the region in recent weeks following the most significant eruption of violence between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group since a ceasefire signed four months ago brought an uneasy calm to the border.
The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in November brought a significant reduction in violence following more than a year of cross-border strikes and months of a full-scale war.
Israel has conducted dozens of strikes, mostly in southern Lebanon on what it calls Hezbollah targets, since the ceasefire.
This is a developing story and has been updated.