Hezbollah and Israel reignite conflict in Lebanon after Iran strikes

Now, for a look at the wider region, let's turn to our special correspondent in Lebanon,

a country being dragged back into conflict as Hezbollah has resumed attacks on Israel.

Simona Fultine is coming to us from the outskirts of the capital city of Beirut.

And Simona, we know those Hezbollah attacks on Israel come more than a year after a ceasefire

deal that went into place after the 2024 war, a war that left Hezbollah very much weakened.

Why would they decide to attack now?

Well, Amna Hezbollah would have weighed its domestic interest with its desire or duty

to support its main regional ally and back her Iran and based on this reaction,

it seems that the latter interest prevailed.

Now, there is a big question mark about the military value of this attack.

It was pretty symbolic. The rockets were intercepted and inflicted very limited.

If any damage on the Israeli side, whereas the IDF's response was much more devastating.

Now, of course, as you mentioned, Hezbollah has been significantly weakened in the last

full-scale war of Israel.

You mentioned that IDF response to the Hezbollah latest attacks.

They've killed more than 50 people in and around Beirut, tens of thousands of people,

again, being displaced from southern Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs.

Tell us a little bit more about the impact and also the reaction from inside Lebanon.

Well, the impact has been quite devastating, especially for Hezbollah's own constituents

there has been, again, another wave of displacement,

a large-scale bombardment of villages in the south, as well as Beirut's southern suburbs.

So it has caused, once again, displacement, once again panic, once again,

a lot of uncertainty about whether this country will once again be plunged into full-scale war.

But what is perhaps most note for fear is the government's reactions.

Earlier today, following an emergency cabinet session,

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam announced a ban on Hezbollah military and intelligence activities.

And this is quite unprecedented in this country because previously the group was

somehow recognized as the so-called resistance, as being part of the country's defenses.

So essentially, with this government decision, Hezbollah has become somewhat of an outlawed

group, at least when it comes to its military wing.

Simona, we know you also lived in Dubai for many years.

Of course, you reported from the region for years these fears of a widening regional war.

How big are they? How real are they?

Well, this is quite an unprecedented situation in the region, and especially in the Gulf countries.

If you look at places like the United Arab Emirates or Qatar, these are countries that

were considered safe havens for Arabs and Muslims that were fleeing conflict elsewhere

in the region. So this is something that these countries have not really seen.

Now, so far, the air defense systems that have been supplied by the United States have managed

to intercept most of the Iranian missiles that have been targeting these places. So the human

casualties have been relatively low, but these countries are being hit where it hurts the most,

and that's their economic engine, just to give you a sense. So for example, Dubai's airport

is the second largest in the world. It's Jebel Ali-Port is the ninth largest shipping port in the

world, and now essentially all of the economic activity in the Gulf region has come to a whole

lot of air space is closed. We have seen footage of five star hotels being hit with debris. We

have seen ports being targeted. We have seen oil installations being targeted. So all of that

is quite significant. That is special correspondent Simona Fultine joining us from outside Beirut,

Lebanon. Simona, thank you.