Israeli warplanes carried out intensive airstrikes at dawn on Monday in Beirut’s southern suburbs, hours after rockets were launched from Lebanese territory toward Israel, according to local television channel al-Jadeed.
The strikes focused on Dahieh, a known stronghold of Hezbollah in the southern outskirts of the Lebanese capital. Residents fled their homes amid concerns of further escalation, while ambulances rushed to the targeted areas to evacuate casualties. No official toll was immediately available, Xinhua news agency reported.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah group said in a statement that it had launched rockets and drones toward Israel in retaliation for the Saturday killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in joint Israeli-US strikes on Iran.
“In retaliation for the pure blood of the Guardian of the Muslims … which was unjustly and treacherously shed by the criminal Zionist enemy, and in defense of Lebanon and its people … the Islamic Resistance (in Lebanon) targeted, shortly after midnight between Sunday and Monday, March 2, 2026, the Mishmar HaCarmel missile defense site south of the occupied city of Haifa with a salvo of advanced rockets and a swarm of drones,” the group said.
The attack triggered air raid sirens in Haifa, the Upper Galilee, and the Golan Heights. The Israeli military said some projectiles were intercepted while others landed in open areas. No casualties were reported.
Lebanon And Israel Respond
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned the rocket attack and cautioned against dragging the country into deeper conflict.
“We will not allow the country to be dragged into new adventures, and we will take the necessary measures to apprehend those responsible and protect the Lebanese people,” Salam said.
“Regardless of the party behind it, the rocket launch from southern Lebanon is a reckless and suspicious act that endangers Lebanon’s security and safety and gives Israel pretexts to continue its attacks,” he added.
On the Israeli side, the military said it launched ‘forceful’ airstrikes across Lebanon in response to projectiles fired by the Iran-aligned Hezbollah, noting it began operating ‘against Hezbollah’s decision to join the campaign.’ Israel’s state-owned Kan 11 TV reported that several strikes targeted Beirut’s Dahieh district.
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