The IDF, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Defense Minister Israel Katz on Sunday afternoon announced that the air force was attacking Hezbollah's stronghold of Dahiyeh in Beirut, after the terror group ignored the ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump on June 1.
This was a low grade attack in Beirut, appearing to try to walk the tightrope between pressuring Hezbollah more, while avoiding antagonizing Iran too much over a more serious attack on its main proxy.
Dahiyeh, a suburb south of Beirut, is an area with a heavy Hezbollah terror presence.
Washington was reportedly informed ahead of the strikes. The IDF dropped at least 10 one-ton bombs on one command center, with Israeli news outlets reporting that there was at least one other target hit.
Earlier in the day on June 1, Netanyahu and Katz had announced an order for the IDF to return to heavy attacks on Dahiyeh, but by that evening, Trump had announced a new ceasefire agreed to between Israel and the Lebanese government, and had blocked the Israeli air force attack.
Dahiyeh attack comes as Trump, Netanyahu disagree over Beirut strikes
In a series of embarrassing moments, Trump vetoed Netanyahu's attack and leaked that he had called him "f***ing crazy" for wanting to launch wars all the time, leading to him and Israel being hated around the world.
The prime minister received intense criticism for his handling of the situation both within the coalition and from the opposition.
However, Hezbollah has largely ignored the ceasefire, continuing to periodically fire rockets on Israel, including over the weekend.
This appears to have either led Trump to give Netanyahu the green light ot led the prime minister to risk the US president's ire, lest he face additional criticism within Israel.
Last week, Netanyahu said that the order was given after increased Hezbollah rocket attacks on Israeli civilians throughout the North.
Their statement last week came after top US officials seemed to have green-lit re-striking Beirut as the Iran nuclear talks had also dragged longer than Trump had wanted, with Washington having held Israel back in Lebanon as a concession to the Islamic Republic, based on the assumption that a deal would have occurred in prior weeks.
IDF takes Beaufort Ridge in Lebanon
Meanwhile, the IDF announced on May 31 that its ground troops had taken over the Beaufort Ridge outpost and Wadi al-Saluki areas beyond the Litani River, but despite those moves, Hezbollah managed to shower the North with drones and reportedly over 50 rockets throughout the day.
On May 26, in response to ongoing Hezbollah drone attacks, which have harmed an increasing number of IDF soldiers, Israel confirmed that the military had invaded deeper into Lebanon beyond the April 17 ceasefire yellow line and the Litani.
Further, the IDF added that it was operating near Nabatieh, another significant Hezbollah stronghold in southern Lebanon, and is prepared to expand its operations there as well.
The IDF has continued to operate around Nabatieh, the farthest that IDF ground forces have advanced, around 20 kilometers from the Israeli border, whereas, as of the old and now seemingly broken April 17 ceasefire, the IDF was set at around 10 kilometers from the border.