Ceasefire Broken: Hezbollah Fires at Israel, Testing Israel’s Dahieh Red Line

Ceasefire Tested

Hezbollah fired toward northern Israel early Tuesday morning, hours after President Donald Trump announced what Lebanese officials presented as a new ceasefire understanding involving Israel and Hezbollah.

According to initial reports, Hezbollah launched two rockets into Israeli territory at around 1:35 a.m. Red Alert sirens were activated in Rosh Pina, Safed, Katzrin, and additional areas in northern Israel. The rockets were intercepted.

There was also a report of a suspicious aerial object that fell in northern Israel. No casualties were reported.

The launches came after Lebanese officials claimed that Hezbollah had agreed to an American proposal for a mutual halt to attacks. Under the Lebanese version of the arrangement, Israel would stop acting in Beirut’s southern Dahieh district, while Hezbollah would stop attacks against northern Israel.

But Israel had already presented a different position.

Israel’s Red Line

Defense Minister Israel Katz said Monday night that Israel does not view the situation in Lebanon as a full ceasefire.

“There is no ceasefire in Lebanon,” Katz said. “We have changed the equation.”

Katz made clear that Israel would continue operating against Hezbollah threats and would not accept restrictions on its freedom of action inside Lebanon.

“Everything that is required will be done,” he said. “There are no restrictions inside Lebanon.”

According to the equation presented by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Katz, if Hezbollah launches attacks toward Israeli cities, Israel will respond. That includes the possibility of strikes in Dahieh, Hezbollah’s stronghold in Beirut.

“Hezbollah will not attack Israel, so Israel will not attack Dahieh in Beirut,” Katz said. “We are continuing our operations.”

Northern Alerts

The IDF later said that alerts had been activated in the Metula area after a launch was identified from Lebanon.

“Following the alerts that were activated a short time ago in the Metula area, a launch was identified that landed near IDF forces operating in southern Lebanon,” the IDF Spokesperson said. “There are no casualties.”

At the same time, an alert was issued over a suspected aircraft infiltration in the Hanita and Shlomi area, near Israel’s northern border.

The overnight fire appeared to test the very equation Israel laid out only hours earlier: if Hezbollah stops attacking Israel, Israel will not strike Dahieh. If Hezbollah fires at Israeli cities, Israel says the rules have changed.

For northern Israel, the message was immediate. The ceasefire claim had barely been announced before sirens sounded again.