Nadene Goldfoot
First Beirut strike since Lebanon ceasefire understandings; Israel said it notified Washington before targeting empty Hezbollah buildings in Dahieh, as Trump later said he was not demanding Lebanon join a short-term deal with Tehran, Iran, after rocket fire from Lebanon hit northern Israel first.
Dahieh is the Beirut stronghold of Lebanese political party and paramilitary group Hezbollah, and it had large auditoria in Haret Hreik, Hadath and Bourj el-Barajneh, where Hezbollah followers gathered on special occasions. The area was severely bombed by Israel in the 2006 Lebanon War and in the Israel–Hezbollah conflict (2023–present). Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in 2024. The question now is how Iran will respond after it had previously threatened to fire at northern Israel if the IDF struck Dahieh.
The U.S.-Iran ceasefire called by President Trump has technically been in effect for about 60 days, originally taking effect in early April before being extended indefinitely. It's a ceasefire without any standards: one shot allowed, 10 shots allowed, 100 shots allowed, and of what? Rockets, missiles, drones, what? A basic amount of war has been going on. A "let it all out" hasn't been happening.
However, the truce is highly fragile and has experienced near-daily violations, to put it mildly.
The status of the conflict remains tense: Despite the ceasefire, both sides continue exchanging strikes. Recent flare-ups include the U.S. shooting down Iranian drones over the Strait of Hormuz and launching retaliatory strikes. On the other hand, we see Iranian missile attacks targeting Kuwait and Bahrain at the same time. The sky must be full of rockets and missiles. Of course, Indirect negotiations remain at a standstill, with Iran accusing the U.S. of violating the agreement. The chutzpa of Iran is unbelievable!!!
Even the haters of Israel can't get the history right: Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Michigan Democrat and fierce critic of Israel, forced a vote on the House floor Thursday. It was defeated 324 to 92, with 91 Democrats voting in favor. The sole Republican vote came from Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, who will be departing Congress next year after losing his primary. The resolution, which would have ordered President Donald Trump to remove U.S. troops from Lebanon within seven days, was defeated after the resolution was defeated by an overwhelming 324-92 bipartisan vote after House Democratic leaders issued a joint statement pointing out that there were no U.S. servicemembers involved in combat operations or hostilities in Lebanon.
Political Action: Due to the ongoing military engagement and escalating tensions, the U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a War Powers Resolution demanding that President Trump seek congressional authorization to continue operations in Iran. Wouldn't that take a lot of time??? To get permission??? At this point, it seems that Iran would only accept immediate reaction from USA to understand the meaning of any point.
The strikes came after long weeks in which the IDF had refrained from attacking the Hezbollah stronghold. Previous Israeli airstrikes had been targeted killings, rather than attacks on Hezbollah headquarters. Hezbollah has three main centers of activity: southern Lebanon, the Baalbek area in eastern Lebanon and Beirut. Senior IDF officials have recently demanded action in Dahieh to hit Hezbollah in its most sensitive areas.
Hezbollah officially emerged in Lebanon in 1982 during the Lebanese Civil War. The militant and political group was formed in response to the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, drawing its initial support from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to unify various Shia factions. It's an arm of Iran, doing it's bidding. The 1982 invasion of Lebanon was launched by Israel on June 6, 1982, in response to the attempted assassination of Israel's ambassador in London. Codenamed "Operation Peace for Galilee," the military action quickly escalated beyond its initial goal of a limited 40-kilometer security zone (24.85 miles) into a full-scale advance to Beirut and a broader conflict with Syrian forces. Escalating Cross-Border Attacks: The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) had steadily built up a massive military presence in southern Lebanon following their expulsion from Jordan. From these bases, they launched continuous rocket and artillery barrages into northern Israel, threatening the safety of civilian communities in the Galilee. 
The instability created by the Lebanese Civil War provided the PLO with a safe haven to establish a heavily fortified operational state-within-a-state, heightening the regional threat. The Lebanese Civil War was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon. The religious diversity of the Lebanese people played a notable role in the lead-up to and during the conflict: Lebanese Christians and Lebanese Sunni Muslims comprised the majority in the coastal cities; Lebanese Shia Muslims were primarily based throughout southern Lebanon and in the Beqaa Valley in the east; and Druze and Christians populated the country's mountainous areas. At the time, the Lebanese government was under the influence of elites within the Maronite Christian community. The link between politics and religion was reinforced under the French Mandate from 1920 to 1943, and the country's parliamentary structure favoured a leading position for Lebanese Christians, who constituted the majority of the population. However, Lebanon's Muslims comprised a large minority and the influx of thousands of Palestinians—first in 1948 and again in 1967—contributed to Lebanon's demographic shift towards an eventual Muslim majority. Lebanon's Christian-dominated government had been facing increasing opposition from Muslims, pan-Arabists, and left-wing groups. The Cold War also exerted a disintegrative effect on the country, closely linked to the political polarization that preceded the 1958 Lebanese crisis. Christians mostly sided with the Western world while Muslims, pan-Arabists, and leftists mostly sided with Soviet-aligned Arab countries.
Palestinian Fatah fighters in Beirut in 1979
Notice how they put the women up front? first to be shot?
Bringing it up to date: The Palestinian movement relocated most of its fighting strength to Lebanon at the end of 1970 after being expelled from Jordan in the events known as Black September. The umbrella organization, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)—by itself undoubtedly Lebanon's most potent fighting force at the time—was little more than a loose confederation, but its leader, Yassir Arafat, controlled the PLO's largest and most dominant faction, Fatah, effectively making him the strongman of the PLO. Arafat allowed little oversight to be exercised over PLO finances as he was the ultimate source for all decisions made in directing financial matters.
The first six months of 1981 brought Lebanon some of the worst violence since 1976. Another factor was political activity in Israel ahead of elections in June which Prime Minister Menachem Begin and his Likud party were expected to lose. Begin publicly acknowledged that Israel had an alliance with Bashir Gemayel's Phalange militia and would intervene if the Syrian Army attacked them. Defence Minister Rafael Eitan visited Jounieh on several occasions. In South Lebanon there were regular airstrikes around Nabatieh and Beaufort Castle. On the night of 9 April IDF commandos raided five different PLO positions in the South.On 16–18 September 1982, Lebanese Phalangists, allied with the Israeli Defense Force, killed between 460 and 3,500 Lebanese and Palestinian Shiite civilians in the Shatila refugee camp and the adjacent Sabra neighborhood of Beirut.
Since 1990, Lebanon has undergone a thorough re-constructive process, in which the Downtown of Beirut was fully restructured according to international standards. Israel is fighting in Lebanon to dismantle the military capabilities of Hezbollah and push its fighters away from the northern Israeli border. 
On 28 February 2026, , the supreme leader of Iran, was assassinated in Tehran as part of a series of Israeli airstrikes aimed at high-ranking Iranian officials. Khamenei's death was confirmed by the Iranian government on 1 March.
Ali Khamenei
The current conflict reignited on March 2, 2026, when Hezbollah launched rockets into northern Israel in retaliation for the death of Iran's supreme leader. Israel responded with extensive airstrikes across Lebanon and a ground invasion.
PS 10:50am: After hearing Fareed Zakaria on TV interview a Lebanese lady, it was amazing how she put all the blame of their woes on Israel, blaming their neighbor for fault of being attacked; for being their target, never realizing how Lebanon was at fault for Hezbollah being there and causing them for living in tents. Well, with all the fighting, it's probably impossible to teach their children anything, and that they are growing up without any honest history of their own country let alone about Israel. They sound completely uneducated to the facts; as so many are all over the world, in fact. It doesn't take long to not learn about our grandparents' struggles in the world. All is forgotten, except the attitude of hatred the lingers with the parents.
Update: 12:50pm 6/7/26 Missiles were shot at Israel at 10:50pm in retaliation. Sirens sounded across large parts of northern Israel, including Haifa. All of the missiles were intercepted, but minutes later Home Front Command said Iran had launched additional missiles toward northern Israel.
The IDF later said missiles had been identified launching from Iran toward northern Israel. “Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat,” the military said. “In the past few minutes, Home Front Command sent a precautionary directive directly to mobile phones in the relevant areas.”
Under the updated Home Front Command policy, Israel has moved to limited activity nationwide. Educational activities are prohibited. Gatherings are permitted with up to 200 people outdoors and up to 500 people indoors, provided participants can reach a standard protected space in time during an alert.
Workplaces may operate only if employees can reach a standard protected space in time. The policy remains in effect until Monday at 8 p.m.
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