Al Arabiya reported that Haj Mohammed Raad, the head of the Hezbollah parliamentary group and deputy to Hezbollah’s secretary-general Naim Qassem, was killed in the Israeli airstrikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
On Monday morning, Hezbollah fired rockets and drones across Lebanon’s southern border into Israel, marking the organization’s first attacks on Israel since the November 2024 Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire.
When claiming responsibility for the attacks, Hezbollah stated that its strikes were launched in “retaliation” for the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
The strikes were reported to have originated from south of the Litani River, in the region over which the Lebanese state announced full operational capacity in January.
Israeli airstrikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs, reportedly killing at least 20 people.
The Israeli army stated that it carried out “precise and targeted” strikes against “senior terrorist operatives” of Hezbollah in the Beirut region.
Arabic spokesperson to the Israeli army Avichay Adraee issued an evacuation warning to over 50 towns in southern and eastern Lebanon. The Israeli army began carrying out strikes in these areas.
Amid evacuation orders and airstrikes, Lebanese citizens across the south, east, and Beirut area have begun fleeing targeted areas.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam called for an emergency convening of the Council of Ministers to take place at 8:00 am Beirut time to discuss Hezbollah’s launching of attacks and Israel’s subsequent retaliatory strikes.
Commenting on Hezbollah’s attacks on X, Salam expressed that “the rocket fire from southern Lebanon is an irresponsible and suspicious act that endangers Lebanon’s security and safety and gives Israel pretexts to continue attacks on it.”
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun stated that the rocket launches from Lebanese territory undermine all efforts and initiatives carried out by the Lebanese state.
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