Series of overnight Israeli attacks on Lebanon kill at least 31, injure 149

BEIRUT — Overnight to Monday, a series of Israeli strikes hit Beirut's southern suburbs, the Bekaa and south Lebanon, killing over 31 people, after Hezbollah claimed “a volley of missiles and a swarm of drones” toward Israel.

Israel then launched a series of heavy airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs and ordered residents of more than 53 villages in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa to evacuate immediately.

On Monday morning, the Health Ministry announced that overnight Israeli strikes on Lebanon killed over 31 and injured 149 others. At least 20 people were killed and 91 others wounded in Beirut's southern suburbs; 11 killed and 58 others wounded in southern Lebanon.

President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam both condemned the party’s rocket fire.

At around 1 a.m., the Israeli military claimed it intercepted a “projectile launched from Lebanon and entering Israeli territory.” After about 90 minutes, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it had launched “a volley of missiles and a swarm of drones at the Mishmar HaCarmel site, south of Haifa,” in response to the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Saturday in Tehran.

Hezbollah leaders targeted

According to Lebanese channel Al-Jadeed, Israeli strikes targeted buildings in the Haret Hreik and Jamous neighborhoods in Beirut's southern suburbs.

Amdad's office, an organization responsible for collecting donations for Hezbollah, was in one of the targeted buildings. The Israeli military claimed it had carried out “precise and targeted strikes against senior terrorist elements of Hezbollah in the Beirut area,” as well as against “a central terrorist element in southern Lebanon.”

Around 4 a.m., the Israeli military called on residents of 53 villages in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa to “immediately evacuate their homes” and move at least 1,000 meters away from any residential area ahead of further strikes.

An attack followed in Wadi Jilo (Sour district). According to L'Orient Today's correspondent in southern Lebanon, Israeli strikes on Toul (Nabatieh) killed seven members of the same family.

Israeli strikes also killed three women in Shehabieh (Sour), and four people in Sultanieh (Bint Jbeil), he added. Israeli strikes on Khirbet Silm (Bint Jbeil), Bir al-Salasil and Deir Qanoun al-Nahr (Sour) were also reported.

Earlier, Israeli artillery targeted homes and their surroundings in Yaroun and Aitaroun (Bint Jbeil), as well as in Khiam (Marjayoun), according to our correspondent. Israeli fighter jets also carried out a series of intense airstrikes on Harouf (Nabatieh) and Adsheet (Marjayoun) as heavy machine-gun fire from Israeli helicopters was reported along the border.

Israel and Hezbollah's cease-fire came into effect on Nov. 27, 2024, after the party had opened a support front against the war in Gaza on Oct. 8, 2023. Israel continues to attack Lebanon daily and occupies at least five positions in the South.

During Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran in June 2025, Hezbollah did not intervene.

Salam condemned the attack on Israel, describing it as an “irresponsible and suspicious act that endangers Lebanon’s security and gives Israel excuses to continue its attacks.”

Aoun said the rocket launches “undermine all efforts and initiatives undertaken by the Lebanese state to keep Lebanon away from the serious military confrontations shaking the region.”

An international conference in support of the Lebanese Army and Internal Security Forces — tasked with disarming Hezbollah — had been scheduled for March 5 in Paris. Aoun and French President Emmanuel Macron announced Sunday that the conference would be postponed.