By admin 
Alice Cuddy, Senior international reporter, Beirut, Samantha Granville, Beirut and David Gritten report on the escalating tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, which have erupted into a full-blown conflict following the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The Iranian-backed Shia group claimed responsibility for launching rockets and drones at the Israeli city of Haifa, stating it was an act of vengeance for Khamenei’s "pure blood" and a response to ongoing Israeli strikes in Lebanon. In a swift and devastating retaliation, Israel’s military announced it had struck numerous Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, with the Lebanese health ministry reporting a grim toll of 31 people killed in Israeli strikes across Beirut’s southern suburbs and the country’s south.
The cycle of violence, which had been a simmering concern since the end of a fragile ceasefire 15 months prior, now threatens to engulf the region in a wider conflagration. While Hezbollah claimed its rocket and drone barrage on Haifa was a direct response to Khamenei’s death, Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, vowed a "heavy price" for the group, declaring that its leader, Naim Qassem, was now a "marked target for elimination." Katz further stated he had ordered the Israeli military to "act forcefully" against the militia and political party.
In a significant development, Lebanon’s Prime Minister, Nawaf Salam, publicly condemned Hezbollah’s actions as "irresponsible" and announced that his government would immediately ban the group’s military activities. This move represents a bold challenge to Hezbollah’s entrenched power within Lebanon and signals a growing rift within the Lebanese political landscape. The expectation that Hezbollah, with its deep financial and ideological ties to Iran, would inevitably be drawn into the escalating conflict between Iran, Israel, and the United States had been widely held. The current hostilities are part of a broader regional escalation that began with a joint US-Israeli attack on Iran’s leadership and armed forces on Saturday, prompting Iran to retaliate with missile and drone strikes towards Israel and Gulf Arab states hosting US military bases.
On Sunday, Hezbollah’s leader, Naim Qassem, denounced Khamenei’s assassination as "the height of crime" and pledged that his group would "undertake our duty of confronting the aggression" by Israel and the US, refusing to "leave the field of honour and resistance." This declaration set the stage for the retaliatory actions that followed.
At approximately 01:00 local time on Monday (23:00 GMT on Sunday), air raid sirens wailed across several areas of northern Israel, accompanied by the sound of explosions. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported that one projectile launched from Lebanon into Israeli territory was intercepted, with several others falling in open areas, resulting in no reported injuries or damage. Shortly after, Hezbollah’s military wing claimed responsibility for launching "a barrage of rockets and a swarm of drones" targeting a missile defense site south of Haifa. The group reiterated that this action was in retaliation for Khamenei’s killing and for "repeated Israeli aggressions" since the November 2024 ceasefire that concluded a year-long conflict between them.
In response, Israeli forces unleashed a formidable wave of air and naval strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, an area known as Dahieh, and southern Lebanon at around 03:00. The IDF asserted that these strikes were aimed at senior Hezbollah operatives, command centers, weapons stores, and "terrorist infrastructure," with Hussein Meklad, the head of Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters, reportedly among the casualties.
The immediate aftermath of the Israeli strikes was marked by plumes of smoke rising above Dahieh. Streets were filled with the acrid smell of smoke and the sounds of screams as multiple fires erupted in buildings. The area around Beirut’s airport was also hit, leaving streets littered with broken glass and debris. Bumper-to-bumper traffic choked the airport road and the main highways leading north as residents of the capital attempted to flee the escalating violence.
Zeinab, a teacher from Dahieh, recounted her harrowing experience to the BBC. She and her family were initially woken by news of Hezbollah’s rocket launch towards Israel. "We tried to understand from the news where things might go and in the end we said, ‘let’s go back to sleep and in the morning we can decide if we need to leave or not’." Their hopes for a peaceful morning were shattered when they were awakened by the concussive force of Israeli strikes. "The house was shaking around us… I was with my daughter and I told her, ‘we are dying. There is no chance for survival’." The mother and daughter fled their home, running barefoot into the street with no clear destination. Zeinab expressed profound anger and exhaustion at being drawn into yet another war, stating, "We shouldn’t have to live with this fear and anxiety for any reason… nor should our children carry the burden of a war that has nothing to do with them. We are done, we are exhausted."
The IDF also issued evacuation orders for residents of more than 50 villages in southern and eastern Lebanon, warning of impending further strikes. In the south, some residents had already begun to evacuate following Hezbollah’s rocket launch. A 55-year-old shop owner, who requested anonymity, described the situation as "absolutely miserable," relaying in a voice message, "We were just sitting at home and then suddenly this happened." He added, "We were shocked and we quickly packed and woke up the kids and got in the car. Now we’re stuck on blocked roads because of the massive displacement from the south." The father of three also mentioned that his parents in Dahieh were "stuck and trying to get out."
Further heavy Israeli strikes continued in Beirut and southern Lebanon on Monday afternoon, with the IDF claiming to have hit over 70 weapons storage facilities, launch sites, and missile launchers.
In the northern Israeli border town of Metula, overlooking the shattered remnants of a Lebanese village just a few kilometers away, the streets were eerily quiet on Monday. Levav Weinberg and his family, who had returned to their home in July after evacuating during the previous conflict with Hezbollah, spent Monday night in their safe room after sirens warned of incoming rockets from Lebanon. Weinberg shared his perspective with the BBC, noting, "Hezbollah rockets not same as Iranian rockets. An Iranian rocket would probably smash the whole house. We all understand that Iran is the heart of all the bad groups around us." He views the fight against Hezbollah as intrinsically linked to confronting Iran, expressing a hope that the problem would be addressed more effectively than in the past, lamenting that Hezbollah has already re-established itself a year after the ceasefire.
A young Israeli soldier stationed near a bomb shelter voiced his unwavering support for his government’s decision to initiate a conflict with Iran, stating he backed it "100%." The IDF’s chief of staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, informed officers on Monday morning that this marked the commencement of an "offensive campaign" against Hezbollah and urged them to prepare for "many prolonged days of combat ahead." He later declared, "We will end this campaign with not just Iran being struck, but with Hezbollah suffering a devastating blow." IDF spokesperson Brig Gen Effie Defrin confirmed the deployment of troops to defend the border with Lebanon and to be prepared for "all possibilities," not ruling out a new ground invasion of southern Lebanon, stating that "all options" were "on the table."
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the Israeli strikes but also cautioned against allowing Lebanon to become a battleground for conflicts that are "not ours." Following a cabinet meeting at Baabda Palace, ministers also denounced the firing of rockets from Lebanese territory, deeming it a violation of the November 2024 ceasefire agreement. Prime Minister Salam emphasized that the "decision of war and peace" rests solely with the state, necessitating the "immediate prohibition of all Hezbollah’s security and military activities as being outside the law, and obliging it to hand over its weapons." This demand constitutes one of the most significant challenges to Hezbollah’s long-standing parallel authority within Lebanon.
Hezbollah, designated as a terrorist organization by several countries including the UK and the US, has not yet issued an official comment. The group has previously stated that its fighters will not disarm until Israel withdraws from southern Lebanon and ceases its air strikes. The presence of Hezbollah’s arsenal has historically been a deeply divisive issue in Lebanon, a country still bearing the scars of its 1975-1990 civil war.
Calls for Hezbollah to disarm have intensified since its last conflict with Israel, which began with Hezbollah rocket fire into Israeli positions in a disputed border area the day after Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Israel responded with an extensive air campaign and ground invasion in September 2024, aiming to ensure the safe return of residents displaced by the rocket attacks. This war resulted in the deaths of 4,000 Lebanese and 120 Israelis, significantly weakening Hezbollah. The group’s former leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an Israeli strike in Dahieh.
The US- and French-brokered ceasefire stipulated that Hezbollah would end its armed presence south of the Litani River, approximately 30km from the Israeli border, and Israel would withdraw its forces from the area. However, since the truce, both sides have accused each other of violations. Israel has accused Hezbollah of attempting to rebuild its military capabilities, particularly in the south, while the IDF has conducted near-daily strikes on targets it claims are linked to Hezbollah. Israeli troops have also maintained their occupation of at least five positions in southern Lebanon.