Israel bombs Beirut after Hezbollah launches rocket attack

"The resistance leadership has always affirmed that the continuation of Israeli aggression and the assassination of our leaders, youth and people gives us the right to defend ourselves and respond at the appropriate time and place. The Israeli enemy cannot continue its fifteen-month-long aggression without a warning response to halt this aggression and withdraw from the occupied Lebanese territories."

"The [Israeli military] will act against Hezbollah's decision to join the campaign, and will not allow the organisation to pose a threat to the state of Israel and harm the residents of the north. The Hezbollah terror organisation is destroying the state of Lebanon. Responsibility for the escalation lies with it, and the [Israeli military] will respond forcefully to this harm."

"The violence marks a major escalation in what is becoming a regional war between the United States and Israel on one side and Iran and its allies on the other. The escalation could deepen the crisis in Lebanon, which has been suffering from economic and political woes for years."

Hezbollah conducted a coordinated rocket and drone attack against an Israeli military base near Haifa, claiming it was retaliation for the assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and in defense of Lebanon against Israeli aggression. The group stated it has the right to respond to continued Israeli attacks and occupation of Lebanese territories. Israel responded with extensive airstrikes across Lebanon, including southern Beirut, southern villages, and the Bekaa Valley, with the Israeli military vowing forceful action against Hezbollah. This escalation represents a major intensification in the broader regional conflict between the US-Israel alliance and Iran with its allies, threatening to deepen Lebanon's existing economic and political crisis.

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