Israel says Hezbollah agent targeted in Beirut suburb strike

Israel conducted an airstrike on a Beirut suburb that targeted a Hezbollah operative, days after the military’s first assault on the Lebanese capital since a ceasefire started in November.

The Israel Defense Forces said Tuesday the strike was aimed at Hassan Ali Mahmoud Bdeir, a member of Hezbollah, who it said had worked with “Hamas operatives and assisted them in planning a significant and imminent terror attack against Israeli civilians.”

Meanwhile, Yemen’s Houthi terrorists claimed Tuesday that they shot down another American MQ-9 Reaper drone, as the U.S. kept up its intense airstrikes targeting the group.

The reported shootdown came as airstrikes hit around Sanaa, the country’s terrorist-held capital, and Saada, a Houthi stronghold.

The U.S. military acknowledged to The Associated Press it was aware of reports of the downing of a Reaper, but declined to comment further.

President Donald Trump issued a new warning to the Houthis and their main benefactor, Iran, describing the group as being “decimated” by the campaign of strikes that began March 15.

“Many of their Fighters and Leaders are no longer with us,” Trump asserted on his social media website Truth Social. “We hit them every day and night — Harder and harder. Their capabilities that threaten Shipping and the Region are rapidly being destroyed. Our attacks will continue until they are no longer a threat to Freedom of Navigation.”

He added: “The choice for the Houthis is clear: Stop shooting at U.S. ships, and we will stop shooting at you. Otherwise, we have only just begun, and the real pain is yet to come, for both the Houthis and their sponsors in Iran.”

Both Hezbollah and Hamas are Iran-backed terrorist groups who have been in various stages of conflict with Israel over the past 18 months.

In late March, Israeli forces hit a Hezbollah drone-storage facility in the suburbs of Lebanon’s capital, shortly after it sent a warning to civilians to leave the area. That strike was the first in the region since the ceasefire was reached with Lebanon-based Hezbollah more than four months ago.

The Beirut-area strikes come as Israel’s multi-front conflict with Iran-backed militias intensifies after a period of relative calm earlier in the year. Israel is again conducting ground and air attacks on Hamas in Gaza, after a ceasefire there collapsed last month. The country is regularly hitting targets in Syria and being attacked by the Yemen-based Houthis.

Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis are all designated terrorist organizations by the U.S. and many other countries.