Hezbollah announced on April 9 that it launched rockets at Israel, saying the action was in response to what it called a violation of a ceasefire agreement brokered between the United States and Iran.
The statement from Hezbollah said the group targeted the Manara area, just across the border with Israel, with a barrage of rockets at 2:30 a.m. Thursday. The group had not claimed any attacks against Israel since a truce was announced on Tuesday in Washington after 39 days of conflict.
According to Lebanon’s Health Minister Rakan Nasreddine, Israeli airstrikes have resulted in at least 182 deaths and nearly 900 injuries. The strikes have hit residential neighborhoods in central Beirut, southern suburbs of the capital, as well as areas in southern and eastern Lebanon.
Israeli military actions against Hezbollah—a militant group based in Lebanon—have so far resulted in Israel taking control of about ten percent of Lebanese territory and displacing more than one million people. Recent bombings have reached deeper into Beirut, causing panic among residents.
The ongoing violence has raised concerns about ongoing negotiations between Iran and the United States regarding the ceasefire. Al Jazeera reported that Tehran warned it would withdraw from the agreement if Israeli attacks on Lebanon continue. Meanwhile, Israeli officials stated that “the two-week ceasefire does not include Lebanon,” contradicting an earlier claim by Pakistan’s mediator that said the truce covered all regions including Lebanon.
