An Israeli airstrike rocked southern Beirut on Sunday soon after the military issued an evacuation warning for the Lebanese capital.
Footage from Reuters showed a huge plume of smoke rising from the area shortly after 6:00 p.m. (11 a.m. ET).
The target of the strike was a Hezbollah facility in Beirut which stored precision missiles, according to a joint statement from Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz.
Hezbollah has not yet commented on the matter.
The Lebanese Civil Defense said it extinguished fires caused by the Israeli strike and recorded no injuries.
The attack came after Israel Defense Forces spokesman Avichay Adraee advised civilians to evacuate from the Hadath neighborhood. Adraee said Hezbollah was using facilities in the area and said civilians should move 300 meters away.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned Israel for attacking the area and urged the US and France to “compel Israel to immediately halt its aggressions.”
Since a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah went into effect in November, the IDF has carried out a number of strikes, regularly targeting southern Lebanon. The IDF says these strikes have targeted Hezbollah militants and facilities.
Strikes in the capital of Beirut have been rare however. On April 1, the IDF struck a target in the Dahieh area in Beirut. Only days before, the Israeli military had conducted another attack in Beirut.
UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis said Sunday’s strike “generated panic and fear of renewed violence among those desperate for a return to normalcy.” She urged all sides to stop actions that could undermine the ceasefire.
Before the November ceasefire, Israel and Hezbollah exchanged cross-border attacks for 13 months in the wake of the Gaza war. Israel launched an intense ground and aerial campaign in September last year, eliminating the militant group’s leader.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
