Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on Monday that they had instructed the Israeli military to strike what they described as “terrorist targets” in the Dahiyeh district of Beirut.
Netanyahu said in a post on X, “In response to the repeated and ongoing violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon by the terrorist organization Hezbollah and the attacks against our cities and citizens, I have instructed the IDF, together with Defense Minister Israel Katz, to strike terrorist targets in the Dahiyeh district of Beirut.”
Katz also said, “Following the repeated and ongoing violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon by the terrorist organization Hezbollah and the attacks against our cities and citizens, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have instructed the IDF to strike terrorist targets in the Dahiyeh neighborhood in Beirut.”
The announcement comes after U.S. pressure over the past two weeks on Netanyahu’s government to avoid expanding military operations into the Lebanese capital, amid concerns that such a move could undermine ceasefire arrangements and widen the confrontation with Hezbollah.
Those efforts coincided with U.S. diplomatic moves to reduce tensions on the Lebanese front, including proposals under which Hezbollah would halt attacks against Israel in exchange for Israel refraining from carrying out broad strikes inside Beirut.
The development also comes in parallel with negotiations between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s nuclear program and regional de-escalation, as the United States seeks to avoid any major military escalation that could complicate those talks or increase the risk of a wider regional confrontation.
The exact nature of the targets Israel said it would strike in Dahiyeh was not immediately clear.
Any broad strike on Dahiyeh, Hezbollah’s main political and security stronghold, could test U.S. pressure on Israel, particularly if it prompts a response from the group or weakens what remains of the ceasefire understandings. EIR
