US President Donald Trump on Sunday slammed the Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, saying the attacks had come “on a special day” when America and Iran were “close” to a peace deal.
The US President urged all sides to “stand down”, while calling for “no more attacks by Israel on Lebanon” or by any other party, including Hezbollah. “This morning’s attack on Beirut should not have happened, particularly on a special day when we are so close to a Peace Deal with Iran,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
“…All sides should stand down. There should be no more attacks by Israel anywhere in Lebanon, but there should also be no more attacks by any other party, including Hezbollah, against Israel,” he further said.
While stating that Israel “has the right to defend itself”, the US President said that the attack it had responded to was “very small and meaningless” and that no one had been hurt or killed in these. Trump said that the deal could be the beginning of “a long and beautiful peace” in West Asia, urging all parties to not “disrupt the important process.”
Israel pins blame on Hezbollah, says ‘won’t tolerate firing’
Meanwhile, Israel has blamed Hezbollah for the hostilities on Sunday, claiming that the group had attacked Israel in the morning. “The Iranian regime, as always, is lying. Iran’s proxy, Hezbollah, is the one that attacked Israel again this morning, completely unprovoked,” Israel’s foreign ministry said in a post on X.
It further claimed that Hezbollah “constantly fires at Israeli civilians” and had not “stopped targeting” them after the ceasefire. “It was Hezbollah that launched an unprovoked attack on Israel in March, acting under the orders of its Iranian masters. Israel will not tolerate firing at its territory,” the ministry further said.
Israel’s military had earlier today said Hezbollah had launched three projectiles towards its territory, releasing footage where an audible boom was followed by rising smoke. No casualties or injuries were reported in the strikes. Following this, Israel launched strikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs, later saying it had struck a Hezbollah command centre in Dahiyeh, a residential neighbourhood in Lebanon’s Capital.
“Israel will not tolerate firing into its territory,” Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement released after the strikes. A strike hit an apartment in the Ghobeiry neighbourhood of Beirut’s southern suburbs in the Hezbollah stronghold of Dahiyeh, Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) reported.
