Israel says the strikes are about Hezbollah, but the destruction spreading across Lebanon tells a darker story

Israeli warplanes unleashed a powerful bombardment on Beirut’s southern suburbs and southern Lebanon after Hezbollah, with Iranian backing, launched a joint rocket and drone attack on northern Israel. As reported by The Guardian, the escalation follows what Hezbollah called “Operation Chewed Wheat,” its most forceful assault since the conflict began ten days ago.

Hezbollah launched successive volleys of rockets and drone swarms at Israel on Wednesday night, injuring two people. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards later confirmed their “joint and integrated operation” with Hezbollah, saying Iran’s missile strike was carried out alongside Hezbollah’s missile and drone fire.

The coordinated operation targeted more than 50 locations across Israel, including military bases in Haifa, Tel Aviv, and Beersheba. The strike marked the first time Iran and Hezbollah have openly coordinated attacks against Israel since the war between Israel and Iran began two weeks earlier.

Retaliation quickly spread across Beirut and southern Lebanon

Almost immediately after Hezbollah’s strikes, Israel began a retaliatory bombing campaign. The skies over Beirut glowed red as windows across the capital shook from what witnesses described as the most powerful bombardment of the southern suburbs during this round of fighting, amid war aims criticism.

Videos from southern Lebanon showed collapsed buildings and streets filled with smoke and flames. One particularly destructive strike hit the Ramlet al Baida neighborhood in central Beirut early Thursday, a densely populated seaside area where displaced families had been sleeping outdoors. Footage circulating locally showed at least two men dead on the corniche walkway, while Lebanese media reported additional casualties.

Lebanon’s health ministry said at least 17 people were injured in the strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, with additional casualties expected elsewhere. In less than ten days of fighting, Israeli strikes have killed at least 634 people and injured 1,586, while more than 816,700 families have registered as displaced with the Lebanese state.

The Israeli military warned residents in southern Lebanon it would “soon act with overwhelming force” against Hezbollah and urged civilians to distance themselves from areas tied to the group. The warning followed similar displacement orders issued across large parts of southern Lebanon earlier in the week.

Israeli officials have also hinted the campaign could expand further. Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, chief of the Israeli military, ordered reinforcements to the northern border and redeployed the Golani Brigade from Gaza, a unit known for offensive ground operations that analysts believe could indicate preparation for a possible invasion of southern Lebanon, amid defense spending scrutiny.

Hezbollah has reportedly been preparing for such a move. Despite suffering heavy losses during nearly two years of Israeli airstrikes that killed senior commanders and thousands of fighters, the group has spent the period since the November 2024 ceasefire rebuilding its capabilities and redeploying forces across southern Lebanon.

The Lebanese government has urged Hezbollah to halt its attacks on Israel, insisting the state should maintain the monopoly on armed force. Officials have also appealed to the international community for a ceasefire and negotiations with Israel, though Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, questioned whether Lebanese authorities are capable of dismantling Hezbollah’s military infrastructure.