Smoke rises after Israeli strikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs, in Lebanon on March 2, 2026. Mohamed Azakir/Reuters
The Israeli military said on March 1 it launched retaliatory strikes against Hezbollah targets across Lebanon after the Iranian-backed armed group fired projectiles toward Israel in the middle of the night to avenge Iranian Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s killing a day earlier.
Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a post on X, “Shortly after Hezbollah fired the rocket projectiles, we launched a preliminary and widespread wave of airstrikes in Beirut and also in southern Lebanon, where we targeted leaderships in the organization, headquarters, and terrorist infrastructure.”
