Israeli jets struck Beirut’s southern suburbs Sunday after issuing a warning about an hour earlier, marking the third Israeli strike on the area since a ceasefire took effect in late November.
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A huge plume of smoke billowed over the area after the strike. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
In the warning, the Israeli military said it was targeting Hezbollah facilities in the Hadath area and urged residents to move at least 300 metres (984ft) from the site before the strike. Two warning strikes followed.
Fighter jets were heard over parts of the Lebanese capital before the strike near the Al-Jamous neighbourhood, where gunfire was shot into the air to warn residents and urge them to evacuate, as families fled in panic.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Sunday called on “the United States and France, as guarantors of the ceasefire agreement, to assume their responsibilities and compel Israel to halt its attacks immediately”.
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During the last Israel-Hezbollah war, Israeli drones and fighter jets regularly pounded the southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has wide influence and support. Israel views the area, where it has assassinated several of Hezbollah’s top leaders, including chief Hassan Nasrallah, as a militant stronghold and accuses the group of storing weapons there.
Sunday’s strike follows two earlier attacks on the capital’s southern suburbs, the first taking place on March 28, when Israel also issued a warning, and the second on April 1, when an unannounced strike killed four people, including a Hezbollah official.