Israel Shells South Lebanon after Hezbollah Attack

Lebanese army soldiers and intelligence members stand near a vehicle that carries the remains of an Israeli drone that crashed in Beit Yahoun village, in southern Lebanon, March 31, 2018. REUTERS/ Hasan Shaaban
Lebanese army soldiers and intelligence members stand near a vehicle that carries the remains of an Israeli drone that crashed in Beit Yahoun village, in southern Lebanon, March 31, 2018. REUTERS/ Hasan Shaaban
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Israel Shells South Lebanon after Hezbollah Attack

Lebanese army soldiers and intelligence members stand near a vehicle that carries the remains of an Israeli drone that crashed in Beit Yahoun village, in southern Lebanon, March 31, 2018. REUTERS/ Hasan Shaaban
Lebanese army soldiers and intelligence members stand near a vehicle that carries the remains of an Israeli drone that crashed in Beit Yahoun village, in southern Lebanon, March 31, 2018. REUTERS/ Hasan Shaaban

Israel on Sunday shelled the outskirts of Lebanese border villages after Hezbollah fired anti-tank missiles on an Israeli military base and vehicles.

"A number of anti-tank missiles were fired from Lebanon towards an Israeli military base and military vehicles. A number of hits have been confirmed," it said in a statement.

"The Israeli army is responding with fire towards the sources of fire and targets in southern Lebanon," the military said.

According to Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA), Israel shelled the outskirts of the southern towns of Maroun al-Ras, Aitaroun and Yaroun that lie near the border between the two countries.

Later, Israel's military said that the fighting with Hezbollah was over.

"Hezbollah executed the attack ... however (it) failed to cause casualties," a military spokesman said. "The tactical event on the ground ... appears to be behind us, however the strategic situation is still on, and the Israeli army maintains an elevated level of readiness."

The eruption of fighting came after Hezbollah said its fighters destroyed an Israeli military vehicle, killing or wounding those inside.

The tit-for-tat attacks had been anticipated after Hezbollah vowed to retaliate to drone attacks on its stronghold in Beirut’s southern suburbs last week.

In the early hours of last Sunday, an Israeli drone crashed and another exploded shortly after, causing damage to Hezbollah’s media offices in the suburbs.

Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah pledged to retaliate for the attack, which he described as “very, very, dangerous.”

Amid the Hezbollah threats, Israel had moved reinforcements into the border area.

On Sunday, Israelis living near the frontier were instructed by authorities to stay indoors.

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri held telephone calls with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as well as an adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron urging Washington and Paris as well as the international community to intervene in the volatile situation.

Hariri’s press office also said that the PM held a phone call with President Michel Aoun and informed him of the international contacts he made.

He also called Army Commander General Joseph Aoun who informed him of the measures taken by the army to contain the situation along the Lebanese-Israeli border.

Earlier on Sunday, the Lebanese military said an Israeli drone had dropped incendiary material and sparked a fire in a pine forest by the border.

The fires near the border in Lebanon "originate with operations by our forces in the area," the Israeli military said in a statement, without elaborating.



Iran Seeks to Turn ‘New Page’ in Ties with Lebanon

 In this photo released by the Lebanese Presidency press office, Lebanese president Joseph Aoun, right, shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency press office via AP)
In this photo released by the Lebanese Presidency press office, Lebanese president Joseph Aoun, right, shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency press office via AP)
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Iran Seeks to Turn ‘New Page’ in Ties with Lebanon

 In this photo released by the Lebanese Presidency press office, Lebanese president Joseph Aoun, right, shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency press office via AP)
In this photo released by the Lebanese Presidency press office, Lebanese president Joseph Aoun, right, shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency press office via AP)

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Lebanese officials on Tuesday that Iran wanted to turn a "new page" in relations with Beirut, hinting at a shift in diplomatic ties that were long grounded in supporting Tehran-backed armed group Hezbollah.

Hezbollah was once a powerful armed movement and political party with sway over Lebanon's state, but it was severely weakened by Israel's bombing campaign last year. Since then, Lebanon's army commander was elected president and a new cabinet with curtailed influence for Hezbollah and its allies took power.

Araqchi's one-day trip to Beirut on Tuesday was his first since February, when he attended the funeral of Hezbollah's secretary general Hassan Nasrallah, killed in Israeli air strikes in September.

Araqchi told both Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi that he wanted to "turn a new page" in Iran's ties with Lebanon, according to statements by Salam and Raggi's offices.

"Araqchi affirmed his country's keenness to open a new page in bilateral relations with Lebanon, based on mutual respect and non-interference in each other's internal affairs," Salam's office said. Araqchi also extended a formal invitation for Salam to visit Iran.

The statement from Raggi's office said the pair had a "frank and direct discussion," including on establishing the state's monopoly on the use of arms - an apparent reference to possible negotiations on the future of Hezbollah's arsenal.

The top Iranian diplomat briefly addressed reporters on Tuesday after meeting with Lebanon's parliament speaker Nabih Berri, who is a key Hezbollah ally. Unlike previous addresses by Iranian diplomats, his comments did not mention Hezbollah.

The visit followed several turbulent episodes in ties between the two countries.

Lebanon's foreign ministry summoned Iran's ambassador to Beirut in April over comments alleging that plans to disarm Hezbollah were a "conspiracy".

Last year, then-Prime Minister Najib Mikati also issued a rare rebuke of Iran for "interfering" in internal Lebanese affairs.

In February, Iran blocked Lebanese planes from repatriating dozens of Lebanese nationals stranded in Tehran after Lebanon said it would not allow Iranian aircraft to land in Beirut because of Israel's threats that it would bomb the planes.