Israel heavily bombs Beirut, in the hardest attack against Lebanon since the start of the war

JerusalemFour hours after the announcement of the truce between the United States and Iran, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has endorsed Washington's decision, but immediately warned that it will continue to attack Lebanon. “Israel supports President Trump's decision to suspend attacks against Iran for two weeks, provided that Iran immediately reopens the strait and ends all attacks against the United States, Israel, and the countries of the region,” Netanyahu's office explained. “The ceasefire does not include Lebanon,” he assured. Israel has led the worst bombing campaign on Lebanon since the start of the war, already leaving hundreds dead, according to the country's Health Minister. The cessation of hostilities was confirmed immediately: at three-thirty in the morning, attacks between Tehran and Tel Aviv ceased. But early in the morning, the Israeli army reiterated that it “continues to fight the terrorist group Hezbollah in Lebanon,” as it had previously indicated would happen once direct confrontation with Tehran was reduced. In contrast, Pakistan, a mediator in the agreement, said that the truce had been agreed on all fronts, including Lebanon.

In the hours following the announcement, Israel has continued to attack southern Lebanon. In fact, one hour before the ceasefire, an attack on an area with cafes in Sidon caused at least eight deaths and 22 injuries, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health. Bombings have also been registered in Srifa, south of Tyre, and in Sadiqin, with several injured. In addition, the Israeli army has once again ordered the evacuation of the southern suburbs of the capital, Beirut, and has, in fact, substantially expanded the area where it orders the population to leave. It has threatened all Lebanese living south of the Zahrani River, that is, within half of Lebanon's territory.

The army spokesman assured that today's attacks are the harshest since the start of the war on February 28.

For the moment, Lebanese sources cited by Reuters agency assure that Hezbollah is respecting the truce. It is expected that in the coming hours the Shiite group will issue an official response to Netanyahu's statements on the continuity of the attacks. Ibrahim Moussawi, a representative of the Shiite movement, has insisted that the ceasefire includes the Lebanese front and that if Israel does not respect it, Iran will respond. Internal criticism of Netanyahu is growing

The agreement has also caused internal criticism. The opposition leader, Yair Lapid, has described the situation as an “unprecedented political disaster” because Israel has been left out of the negotiations between the United States and Iran. The leader of the centrist Yesh Atid party has stated that the executive has failed “politically and strategically”. “The army has done everything it was asked to do and the population has shown great resilience, but Netanyahu has failed politically and strategically and has not met any of the objectives he himself had set”, Lapid affirmed. The consequences of “the arrogance and negligence” of the current government will require years of work to repair the damage caused to the country, he added.

Along the same lines, the leader of Els Demòcrates, Yair Golan, has denounced a “strategic failure of the gravest kind that Israel has known” and has criticized that the government has not been able to transform military successes into a political victory: “None of the objectives have been met: the nuclear program has not been destroyed, the ballistic threat continues and the regime remains in place and even emerges from this war stronger. Iran possesses enriched uranium, controls the Strait of Hormuz and dictates the terms”, he wrote on his X account.Criticism has also come from within the government with the right-wing parties that are part of Netanyahu's coalition. The chairman of the Knesset National Security Committee and member of the far-right party Otzma Yehudit, Zvika Fogel, has reacted to the truce announced by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, with a forceful message: “Donald, you have truly chickened out”. For his part, the chairman of the nationalist party Yisrael Beytenu, Avigdor Lieberman, has said that the truce “gives a respite to the ayatollahs’ regime and an opportunity to regroup”, and has warned: “Any agreement with Iran, without it renouncing the destruction of Israel, the enrichment of uranium, the production of ballistic missiles and the support for terrorist organizations in the region, means that we will have to return to another campaign under harsher conditions and pay a higher price”. Precisely what Iran has said it will not accept: an agreement without guarantees that they will not be attacked again in a few months.