Israel strikes two apartments in Beirut's southern suburbs

Israel's military struck alleged Hezbollah command centers in Beirut's southern suburbs in response to rocket fire on northern Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Sunday.

"In accordance with the directives of Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Katz, the Israel Defense Forces have just struck a militant command center in Beirut's Dahiyeh district, in response to Hezbollah's fire towards Israeli territory," his office said.

Lebanese media reports said the strike destroyed two floors of a building between Mreijeh and Hay el-Sellom.

The Health Ministry said the strike killed two people and wounded 20 others, including four women and four children.

Israel's public broadcaster said Israel informed the United States of the attack in advance.

There was no immediate White House comment. A senior U.S. official said “we were not surprised” by the attack in Beirut. The official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, would not say if the U.S. had been given a heads-up on the strike.

Al-Arabiya television meanwhile quoted an unnamed source as saying that "the attacks on Israel" were being plotted from the targeted site.

Earlier in the day Israel had said that it intercepted two rockets fired from Lebanon at northern Israel. Netanyahu later said that Israel will not allow firing at its communities and "will act accordingly."

Israel and Lebanon agreed to a new U.S.-brokered ceasefire on Wednesday. However, Hezbollah has rejected the agreement and continued to trade fire with Israel in recent days.

Israel has threatened to target Beirut's southern suburbs if Hezbollah launches attacks on northern Israel. U.S. President Donald Trump had recently announced an agremeent under which both sides would refrain from bombing the aforementioned Lebanese and Israeli regions.