Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on March 2, when Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during US-Israeli strikes. Israel, which has kept up strikes targeting Hezbollah despite a 2024 ceasefire, launched multiple waves of strikes this week across Lebanon and sent ground troops into border areas. After waves of Iranian strikes targeted the country’s energy installations, Bahrain’s state-owned Bapco energy company declared force majeure. Israel, Iran trade fireIran fired its first missiles towards Israel after the appointment of the new supreme leader, state broadcaster IRIB said, with Israeli medics reporting one woman wounded. The Israeli military said it launched a new wave of strikes targeting “regime infrastructure”, including internal security command centres and missile launch sites, in central Iran.

Source: Punch March 09, 2026 08:07 UTC