Trump: Israel's Attack on Beirut Should Not Have Happened

SadaNews - U.S. President Donald Trump criticized the Israeli attack that targeted the southern suburbs of Beirut in Lebanon on Sunday.

Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform: "The attack on Beirut this morning should not have happened, especially on such an important day as we are very close to reaching a peace agreement with Iran."

He added: "Israel has the right to defend itself against threats, but the attack it was responding to was very limited and insignificant, and did not injure or kill anyone because of it, and should not disrupt this important process."

The U.S. president continued: "We are very close to an agreement that will bring peace to the region, including Lebanon, and all parties need to step back."

He stressed that: "There should be no further attacks by Israel anywhere inside Lebanon, and there should be no further attacks from any other party, including Hezbollah, against Israel."

Trump affirmed: "This could be the beginning of a long and beautiful peace, so don't mess it up!".

Earlier, Axios reported on Sunday that the Israeli army informed the U.S. Central Command before executing the strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut.

The Israeli army had carried out airstrikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut on Sunday, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz emphasized a zero-tolerance policy regarding fire from Hezbollah.

The Israeli army stated in a statement: "We have just precisely attacked terrorist infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah in the southern suburbs of Beirut."

It added: "Based on the directives of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, the Israeli army is currently launching strikes on targets belonging to Hezbollah in the southern suburbs of Beirut, in response to fire from Hezbollah towards Israeli territory."

The army mentioned that three drone aircraft suspected of being launched by Hezbollah entered Israeli airspace in separate operations on Sunday, two of which crashed in northern Israel with no casualties reported.

Israeli officials, including the Prime Minister, had previously warned that Israel would target the southern suburbs of Beirut if Iranian-backed Hezbollah targeted population centers in northern Israel, a stance they say is backed by Washington.