Israel launched an attack on the Lebanese capital Beirut on Friday for the first time since a ceasefire ended fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah in November. Associated Press reporters in Beirut heard a large boom and witnessed smoke rising from the area that Israel’s military had vowed to strike.

Israel's air force conducted a heavy strike on a building in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital on Friday, a Reuters witness said, the first heavy bombardment there since a truce in November ended a war between Israel and Hezbollah.

The attack in the southern outskirts of the Lebanese capital, an area where Hezbollah holds sway, followed rocket fire toward northern Israel.