Iran launched missiles at Israel on Sunday in response to Israeli airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, breaking a fragile ceasefire and marking the most serious escalation since April. The Israel Defense Forces said it intercepted all ballistic missiles, while US President Donald Trump urged restraint.
The Israeli strikes targeted two apartment buildings in the Dahieh district of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold, killing two people and wounding 11, according to Lebanon’s state news agency. The Israeli prime minister’s office said the military struck “terrorist headquarters” in response to Hezbollah rocket fire.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that the missile attack was “the beginning of a full week of continuous strikes,” with waves of missiles and drones to follow. Tehran had promised a “decisive and painful” response to the Israeli bombing, which it deemed a violation of the US-Iran ceasefire.
President Trump, in phone interviews, urged both sides to de-escalate. He told Fox News: “You’ve shot your missiles, that’s enough. Get back to the table and make a deal.” He also cautioned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against retaliation, saying it would “just keep going like the last 47 years.”
The strikes on Beirut came days after Hezbollah rejected a ceasefire proposal agreed by the Lebanese government and Israel. The US had been “very close” to a peace deal with Iran, Trump said, but the attacks risked derailing negotiations.
