ISRAEL: PM-'We Will Attack Anywhere In Lebanon Against Any Threat To Israel'

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made his first comments following the IDF airstrikes on Beirut earlier today. Netanyahu said, "Those who have not yet internalized the new situation in Lebanon received today another example of our determination. The equation has changed - what happened before the October 7 attacks will not be repeated. We will not allow firing on our communities, not even a drizzle. We will continue to vigorously enforce the ceasefire, we will attack everywhere in Lebanon against any threat to the State of Israel, and we will ensure that all our residents in the north return to their homes safely" 

• Following the attack, Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem's speech in commemoration of International Quds Day was cancelled.
• The attacks in Lebanon appear at present unlikely to reignite the Israel-Hezbollah conflict on a significant scale. Nevertheless, given the breakdown of the ceasefire in Gaza in mid-March, even the potential for escalation will garner significant regional and international attention.
• Indeed, Sayyed Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi, leader of the Houthi rebels in Yemen said in earlier this week, “We have been following the Israeli attacks on various areas in Lebanon. These attacks are unjustified. [...] in any circumstance that requires us to intervene alongside our brothers in Hezbollah and the Lebanese people, we are prepared to do so.”
• The US remains engaged in airstrikes against the Houthis, who resumed their targeting of Israeli vessels in and around the Red Sea following the collapse of the Gaza ceasefire. The strikes on Beirut could see this action escalate further.