The IDF conducted strikes in southern Lebanon on Monday, according to Lebanese media outlets. No official Israeli sources confirmed this action.
Immediately following the initial reports of the strikes, sirens sounded in northern Israel as three projectiles were launched from Lebanon toward IDF posts. Some were intercepted prior to entering Israeli territory, the military announced, adding that one projectile fell near Israeli soldiers. No wounded were reported.
These Hezbollah rockets were fired within less than an hour of Iran saying that it would stop firing on Israel if the IDF stopped attacking it.
It was unclear if the Hezbollah attackers were acting without Hezbollah higher-ups or Iranian authorization or were acting with authorization and anticipating that fighting would continue in southern Lebanon, even if they might stop firing on Israeli civilian northern towns.
The Israel Air Force on Sunday afternoon attacked Hezbollah’s stronghold of Dahiyeh in Beirut, after the Lebanese terror group ignored the ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump on June 1.
This attack – foreshadowed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz – was a low-grade strike on Beirut, an apparent attempt to walk the tightrope between increasing pressure on Hezbollah and avoiding antagonizing Iran too much over a more serious attack on its main proxy.
Iran launches missiles at northern Israel in first since March after Beirut strikes
Shortly after the Dahiyeh IDF operation on Sunday, sirens sounded across northern Israel following the detection of an Iranian missile being launched.
Iran has fired three missile salvos since Monday morning, which cumulatively have reached between 22 and 24 ballistic missiles at Israel, while the Houthis in Yemen have fired two missiles.
One of the Houthi missiles fell short of Israeli territory, while the other was shot down by the Israeli air defense. All of the Iranian missiles so far have either been shot down or fallen short.
Maya Zanger-Nadis contributed to this report.