Israel strikes Beirut after Hezbollah attack, risking Iran response

Israel struck Beirut's southern suburbs Sunday in retaliation to a Hezbollah missile attack on northern Israel, Israeli officials said.

Why it matters: Iran threatened last week to launch a missile attack against Israel if it attacks Beirut. Such a move could unravel U.S.–Iran negotiations and reignite the war.

• Israel notified the Trump administration before the strike, a U.S. official and two other sources with knowledge tell Axios.

Driving the news: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strike answered Hezbollah missiles fired at northern Israel earlier Sunday, which the Israeli military says it intercepted.

• Israeli officials said the Beirut strike targeted a Hezbollah command center in Dahieh — a Shia district known as a Hezbollah stronghold.
• At least two people were killed and a dozen wounded, according to Lebanon's state news agency.

Threat level: A senior Iranian lawmaker publicly threatened retaliation.

• Ebrahim Rezaei, a member of the Iranian parliament's national security committee, wrote on X that Iran "will give a decisive and painful response to the Zionist regime's attack on Dahieh."
• He told followers to "watch the skies" over Israel tonight.

Behind the scenes: The Israelis told the Trump administration that Hezbollah's continued attacks on northern Israel violate a ceasefire, giving Israel the right to hit Beirut, the sources told Axios.

• The Israelis made clear they will continue hitting the Beirut every time Hezbollah launches attacks against northern Israel.
• The White House and the State Department didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Catch up quick: On Monday, President Trump put the brakes on Israel's plan to launch massive strikes on Beirut in response to Hezbollah's drone and missile strikes.

• Trump lashed out at Netanyahu in an expletive-laden call.
• After the call, Trump announced a partial ceasefire that included an Israeli commitment not to attack Beirut in return for Hezbollah stopping attacks on Israeli border towns.
• On Wednesday, Israel and Lebanon agreed to a full ceasefire, contingent on Hezbollah halting attacks and withdrawing its operatives from the area south of the Litani River in Lebanon.
• Hezbollah rejected the terms Thursday. Without Hezbollah's agreement, the ceasefire stayed "on paper."