The U.S.-Israeli bombardment of the Middle East has expanded as Israel launched a fresh wave of attacks in Lebanon.
At least 31 people have been killed and around 149 injured after Israel launched missile strikes on Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Beirut and southern parts of Lebanon, according to the Lebanese state news agency NNA.
Hezbollah had attacked an Israeli military base in Haifa in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated along with several other senior members of Iran’s leadership in Tehran as the U.S. and Israel launched their attacks on Iran over the weekend.
“He was unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems and, working closely with Israel, there was not a thing he, or the other leaders who were killed along with him, could do,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Feb. 28.
Iran has already retaliated against Israel and Trump’s actions by attacking other countries in the Middle East, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Jordan. The risk of complete destabilization of the region has further intensified as Israel and Lebanon renewed their feud with tit-for-tat attacks.
“The resistance leadership has always affirmed that the continuation of Israeli aggression and the assassination of our leaders, youth, and people gives us the right to defend ourselves and respond at the appropriate time and place,” Hezbollah said in a statement, via Al Jazeera.
“The Israeli enemy cannot continue its 15-month-long aggression without a warning response to halt this aggression and withdraw from occupied Lebanese territories.”
The Israeli Defense Forces also warned residents in 50 villages in Lebanon to evacuate as they prepared for further responses to Hezbollah’s rocket attacks.
Hezbollah, the militant group backed by Iran to the tune of billions of dollars, was severely crippled following sustained Israeli attacks a year and a half ago.
In September 2024, the group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an Israeli air raid that destroyed six apartment buildings in Beirut. A ceasefire between the two sides was eventually agreed upon in November 2024.
In a less-than-reassuring message to the American people, Trump confirmed that three U.S. troops had already been killed during the attacks on Iran and admitted that more deaths are expected.
“Sadly, there will likely be more before it ends,” Trump said. “That’s the way it is likely to be. But we’ll do everything possible so that won’t be the case.”
The U.S. war in Iran has not been approved by Congress and has very little support from the American public.
The White House has been contacted for comment.
