Israel warns more strikes if Hezbollah not disarmed
Published on: Sunday, June 08, 2025
Published on: Sun, Jun 08, 2025
By: AFP Text Size: Women salvage tree branches to be used for firewood from the rubble outside a damaged building at the site of an overnight Israeli airstrike. BEIRUT: Israel warned Friday that it would keep striking Lebanon until militant group Hezbollah has been disarmed, after hitting south Beirut in what Lebanese leaders called a major violation of a November ceasefire. Thursday's attacks on what the Israeli military said were underground Hezbollah drone factories came after an Israeli evacuation call on the eve of Eid al-Adha, a key Muslim religious festival, and sent huge numbers of residents of Beirut's southern suburbs fleeing.
Advertisement It was the fourth and heaviest Israeli bombardment of the heavily populated area, known as a bastion of support for Hezbollah, in the six months since a ceasefire deal aimed at ending hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. The last attack was in late April. 'There will be no calm in Beirut, and no order or stability in Lebanon, without security for the State of Israel,' Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement. 'Agreements must be honoured and if you do not do what is required, we will continue to act, and with great force.' The state-run National News Agency reported around a dozen strikes, while Health Minister Rakan Nassereldine said several people were wounded by flying glass.
Advertisement AFP photographers on Friday saw huge destruction as residents, some wearing masks, inspected the debris and damage to their homes. A Hezbollah statement said a preliminary assessment showed nine buildings were completely destroyed and dozens of others damaged. A woman in her 40s who lives near one of the strike sites said she fled on foot with her young children including a three-month-old baby. 'Thank God' the building was not destroyed, she told AFP after returning Friday morning to find the windows of her flat shattered. South Beirut resident Fatima, 40, said 'life goes on', adding that she and her two children were following the usual Eid traditions after fleeing the previous night. Hezbollah sparked months of deadly hostilities by launching cross-border attacks on northern Israel in stated solidarity with Palestinian ally Hamas following its October 7, 2023 attack. France, part of a committee overseeing the ceasefire, condemned the strikes and urged all parties to respect the truce, noting that the monitoring mechanism 'is there to help the parties deal with threats and prevent any escalation'. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun late on Thursday voiced 'firm condemnation of the Israeli aggression' and 'flagrant violation of an international accord... on the eve of a sacred religious festival'. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned the strikes as a violation of Lebanese sovereignty. Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Ammar on Friday urged 'all Lebanese political forces... to translate their statements of condemnation into concrete action', including diplomatic pressure. Hezbollah backer Iran called the strikes 'a blatant act of aggression against Lebanon's territorial integrity and sovereignty', foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said. The war left Hezbollah massively weakened, with top commanders including longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah killed and weapons caches incinerated. Under the ceasefire, Lebanon should disarm Hezbollah, once reputed to be more heavily armed than the state. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.
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