For the second time in less than a week, Israel has carried out an airstrike against a residential area in a suburb of the Lebanese capital city of Beirut. This attack was carried out at 3:30 AM, and came with no warning. At least four people were killed, and a number of others were wounded.
Israel said that the attack targeted Hezbollah member Hassan Bdeir, and some reports suggest he was among the slain. The Israeli statement accused Bdeir of also being secretly in league with Hamas, and claimed he posed an “imminent threat” against Israel.
Israel carried out an attack on a private school in a southern suburb of Beirut just Friday, which was the first strike they launched against metro Beirut since the ceasefire in November. They claimed the school was full of attack drones, though no such evidence was ever offered.
These attacks are an extreme violation of the ceasefire, needless to say. Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on Lebanese territory since the ceasefire, but these attacks on the capital speak to a substantial escalation of their aggression.
France, one of the two guarantors of the ceasefire, was critical of the attacks, calling them “unacceptable violations.” The other guarantor, the US, is taking a much different route, with the State Department endorsing the attacks, and declaring Israel to be “defending itself.”
The State Department said the strikes were justified because “terrorists launched rockets into Israel,” referring to an incident almost two weeks ago where an unknown faction fired six rockets in the direction of Metula. Three of the rockets landed short, inside Lebanese territory, and the other three were intercepted.
Lebanese security forces found the primitive rocket launchers used in this failed attack and destroyed them. Lebanese officials have also arrested suspects they think may have been involved in the incident. The Israeli escalation, however, continues apace, with no signs of slowing, and no signs the US is going to do anything about the violations.
