The Israeli occupation forces said Sunday that they carried out airstrikes in Beirut targeting Hezbollah facilities, with plumes of smoke rising above the Lebanese capital. According to the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the operation was launched in retaliation for Hezbollah attacks in northern Israel.
A week earlier, an Israeli strike on Beirut’s suburbs prompted Iran to launch retaliatory strikes on Israel. Tehran, Hezbollah’s primary supporter, has maintained that any ceasefire agreement with the United States must also put an end to Israeli attacks in Lebanon. On March 2, Hezbollah fired missiles into Israel, two days after the United States and Israel struck Iran, triggering a broader conflict in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, Iran and the United States moved closer to a deal to end the war, as Qatari mediators arrived in Tehran on Sunday to finalize the arrangement, according to two regional officials.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the talks publicly, the officials expressed cautious optimism that Washington and Tehran were nearing an agreement that could stop the fighting, which has claimed thousands of lives, and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, whose shutdown has disrupted global markets.
