The Israeli military on Sunday afternoon struck a residential neighborhood in the southern suburbs of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, in an area that is a stronghold of the militant group Hezbollah.
In a joint statement following the strike, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Defense Minister Israel Katz said the military had targeted infrastructure in the Dahiya, where Hezbollah holds sway. Israel said the Iranian-backed group was storing precision missiles there.
“Israel will not allow Hezbollah to grow stronger and pose any threat to it — anywhere in Lebanon,” Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Katz said. “The Dahiya district in Beirut will not serve as a sanctuary city for the terrorist organization Hezbollah.”
They said that “the Lebanese government bears direct responsibility for preventing these threats.”
Hezbollah did not immediately comment.
Lebanon’s president, Joseph Aoun, said on Lebanese state media that Israel was undermining stability and warned that its actions would “escalate tensions and pose real threats to the region’s security.” He called on France and the United States, which are helping oversee a cease-fire that largely ended fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in November, to “assume their responsibilities and compel Israel to immediately cease its attacks.”
Mr. Aoun said, “The ongoing Israeli attacks on Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are unacceptable under any pretext.”
