ANKARA

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Friday condemned the Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburb, calling it "unacceptable and unjustified."

His remarks came during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris.

"I call on our allies to act swiftly to halt this escalation and support Lebanon in implementing international resolutions," Aoun said.

He also stressed that his country seeks "regional stability and lasting peace."

"We demand the return of our occupied territories, enforcement of relevant UN resolutions, and a return to the 1949 Armistice Agreement," the Lebanese president added.

On March 23, 1949, Lebanon and Israel signed the Armistice Agreement in Ras Naqoura, as part of a series of post-1948 war treaties between Israel and neighboring Arab states.

Israeli fighter jets on Friday bombed and destroyed a building in the Hadath neighborhood of Beirut’s southern suburbs, marking the first Israeli strike on the area since the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon on Nov. 27, 2024.

In a statement, the Israeli army claimed it had struck "an infrastructure site in Beirut’s southern suburb used for storing drones operated by Hezbollah’s aerial unit."

Earlier, the Israeli army claimed that two rockets were fired from Lebanon toward Israel and said: “One was intercepted, while the other landed in Lebanese territory.”

However, Lebanese group Hezbollah once again denied responsibility for launching the rockets, asserting its commitment to the ceasefire agreement.

The Lebanese news agency NNA also reported continued Israeli military aggression in Lebanon's southern towns.

A fragile ceasefire had been in place in Lebanon since November, ending months of cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah, which escalated into a full-scale conflict in September.

Lebanese authorities reported over 1,250 Israeli violations of the ceasefire, including at least 100 fatalities and more than 330 injuries.

Under the ceasefire deal, Israel was supposed to fully withdraw from southern Lebanon by Jan. 26, but the deadline was extended to Feb. 18 after it refused to comply. It still maintains a military presence at five border outposts.