Israel threatens strikes on the southern suburb of Beirut ahead of a Security Council session on Lebanon

Israel on Monday vowed to resume its strikes on the southern suburb of Beirut in response to what it said was Hezbollah’s violation of the ceasefire, warning that the Lebanese capital would not enjoy “calm” if the party continued its attacks, the day after an incursion by its forces into southern Lebanon, the deepest since its withdrawal in 2000.

Hours before a UN Security Council session on Lebanon, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun considered that his country was facing “ferocious and condemnable Israeli aggression,” while the European Union called on the Hebrew state to “stop the military escalation.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said they had instructed the army to bomb the southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, which had remained relatively untouched by strikes since the ceasefire declared on April 17.

A joint statement said, “In light of the repeated violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon by Hezbollah, and the attacks against our cities and citizens, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz issued orders to the Israeli army to strike targets in the Beirut suburb.”

Katz warned in a separate statement that “the southern suburbs of Beirut are no different from towns in northern Israel. If there is no calm in the north, there will be no calm in Beirut.”