Israel strikes Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut, Lebanon, after Iran-backed group avenges Khamenei's killing

Israel launched strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs on Monday, Lebanese state media reported.

The strikes came after Hezbollah said that it had launched rockets and drones at Israel overnight in retaliation for the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

"Beirut's southern suburbs were targeted by a series of Israeli strikes," the state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported, as per AFP.

According to the BBC, people of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, woke up to a series of explosions that sounded through the city shortly before 03:00 local time, as the Israeli military began striking Hezbollah targets after the Iran-backed group fired rockets at northern Israel.

Hezbollah attacks, Israel retaliates

In a statement, Hezbollah said it was acting in retaliation for the killing of Khamenei, calling it a “legitimate act of self-defence”.

It said it had launched a “salvo of precision rockets and a swarm of drones” at a missile defence site in northern Israel, the BBC reported.

US and Israeli air strikes on Iran killed Khamenei on Saturday, 28 February.

The Israeli military confirmed that it had launched strikes in response, saying it was operating “against Hezbollah’s decision to join the campaign” and would not allow the group to "constitute a threat to the state of Israel and harm the civilians of northern Israel”.

“In response to projectile fire toward northern Israel, the IDF is striking Hezbollah targets across Lebanon,” the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said.

“Hezbollah is operating on behalf of the Iranian regime, opening fire against the Israeli civilians, and bringing ruin to Lebanon,” it added in a post on X.

“IDF troops have prepared for such a scenario as part of Operation ‘Roaring Lion’, and are prepared for an all-fronts scenario,” it said.

Israel and Lebanon agreed to a US-mediated ceasefire in 2024, ending more than a year of fighting with Hezbollah that culminated in heavy Israeli strikes on the Iran-backed group. Since then, both sides have accused each other of violating the truce.

Despite the deal, which followed 13 months of conflict, Israel has carried out near-daily strikes on Lebanon, on targets it says are linked to the group.