Hezbollah announced early Thursday that it had launched a new series of attacks against northern Israel. The Lebanese group stated the strikes were a direct response to what it termed the "violation" of a ceasefire deal brokered between Iran and the United States.
While Pakistan, acting as a mediator, initially announced that the truce covered all parties in the Middle East, both the White House and the Israeli government later clarified their positions. They maintained that the Lebanese front remained outside the scope of the agreement, characterizing the conflict there as a separate, bilateral issue.
In a statement, Hezbollah vowed that hostilities would continue until the "American-Israeli aggression" against Lebanon ceases. The group claimed it had remained committed to the cessation of fighting, while accusing Israeli forces of failing to uphold their end of the bargain.
Escalation in Beirut
The flare-up follows a massive Israeli aerial offensive on Wednesday that resulted in more than 250 deaths in a single day. The Israeli military justified the intensity of the bombardment by claiming that Hezbollah fighters have embedded themselves within mixed-use neighborhoods in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
Hezbollah reported that its Thursday retaliatory strike targeted the Israeli town of Al-Manar. Israeli media outlets confirmed that the military had identified incoming fire in the northern sectors of the country.
Wednesday’s strikes marked the most significant escalation since Israel began its ground and air operations in early March. The ongoing conflict has now claimed the lives of more than 1,700 people in Lebanon.
Tensions on this front were reignited on February 28, following a joint Washington-Tel Aviv operation against Tehran. Hezbollah, a key Iranian ally, responded to that operation by launching its own series of strikes, effectively opening the current theater of war.
Following Wednesday's casualties, the group warned that the blood of those killed "would not be spilled in vain." The exchange of fire early Thursday represents the first direct military action by the group since the temporary truce was announced.
