At least two people have been killed and 11 wounded in an Israeli air attack on a densely populated civilian neighbourhood in Beirut’s southern suburbs, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA).

The attack on Sunday afternoon sent plumes of smoke rising over the suburbs, known as Dahiyeh. The strikes targeted two apartments in two buildings, NNA reported.

Israeli Prime Minister ⁠Benjamin Netanyahu ⁠and ⁠Defence Minister Israel Katz said in ‌a joint statement that the army hit a Hezbollah command centre, adding that the strikes were in response to the Lebanese group firing into Israel.

There was no immediate comment by Hezbollah.

Lebanon has been drawn into the United States-Israel war on Iran when Tehran-backed Hezbollah attacked Israel on March 2, following joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran two days earlier.

A ceasefire agreed on April 17 was meant to halt the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, but Israel has continued to carry out near-daily attacks across Lebanon, prompting retaliatory ones from the group. The violence has taken a disproportionate toll on civilians in Lebanon, where Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,500 people since March 2.

A further conditional ceasefire was announced by Lebanese and Israeli envoys last week in Washington, but was rejected by Hezbollah as it did not include the group or provide for the Israeli army’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

Tehran has made a ceasefire in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah a condition for any deal to end the wider war, which has been largely paused by a separate April ceasefire.

Following Israel’s attack on Sunday, Iran’s top negotiator and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Tehran would “not only halt the path of negotiations”, but also come “in direct confrontation with the enemy” over violation of agreements regarding Lebanon.

Ghalibaf said Israeli assets and bases hosting US troops in the region were legitimate targets because of hostile acts including the “violation of ⁠agreements over Lebanon”.

Ebrahim Rezaei, a lawmaker who serves as spokesperson for the Iranian parliament’s national security committee, said Iran would deliver a “decisive and painful response” to the attack.

But a US official told Global News Insight that Washington “supports Israel’s right to self-defence and stands with the legitimate government of Lebanon”.

“Another round of security and political talks is scheduled for the week of June 22 to make progress towards an agreement,” the official said, adding that Hezbollah “must stop firing immediately” and allow the agreement to take effect.

The latest attack came a day after an Israeli strike on a military vehicle on the Khardali-Nabatieh road killed three Lebanese army personnel, in an incident the Israeli army said it was investigating.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said the attack was “aimed at thwarting all efforts to reach a solution”, while Prime Minister Nawaf Salam described it as “a heinous crime and an attack on Lebanon and all Lebanese people”.

Separately, Lebanese army chief Rodolphe Haykal left on Saturday for Pakistan, which has emerged as a central mediator between the US and Iran.

The visit is notable given the insistence by Washington – and by Lebanese leaders, including the president – that ceasefire talks for Lebanon remain separate from the US-Iran negotiations ‌mediated by Pakistan.

Fighting continues in southern Lebanon

Earlier on Sunday, Israeli attacks hit several towns across southern Lebanon and the western Bekaa Valley overnight, while Hezbollah said it launched rockets, artillery fire, and drone attacks against Israeli forces, including near the Beaufort Castle in Yohmor al-Shaqif.

Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said on Sunday that an Israeli raid on the town of Saksakiyeh a day earlier killed at least two people. The ministry added that 22 people were wounded in the attack, including three children and a woman.

Israeli warplanes launched an attack on the town of Srifa. Local media also reported that Israeli fighter jets attacked Dweir, near Nabatieh, north of the Litani River.

Paramedics, meanwhile, continue to look for survivors under the rubble following Israeli attacks.

“The pattern is part of what is being called the Gazafication of Lebanon, or Israel using actions normalised by the Gaza genocide,” said Global News Insight’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

“The targeting of schools in southern Lebanon, just like Gaza. Bombing Lebanese hospitals and clinics, also like Gaza. And the murder of journalists. Then there’s these so-called double-tap attacks against paramedics and rescue workers. Hundreds of Palestinian and Lebanese paramedics have been killed with this unlawful practice.”