Israel strikes a building in southern Beirut, killing at least 4 people

BEIRUT (AP) — The Israeli military struck a building in Beirut's southern suburbs early Tuesday, killing at least four people, as the military said it had targeted a member of the Hezbollah militant group.

The airstrike came without warning days after Israel launched an attack on the Lebanese capital, Beirut, on Friday for the first time since a ceasefire ended fighting between Israeli forces and the Hezbollah militant group in November. The Israeli military then had warned residents in the crowded suburbs before the attack after two projectiles were launched from southern Lebanon, which Hezbollah denied firing.

At least seven other people were wounded in Tuesday's airstrike, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

The Israeli military said in a statement the latest strike targeted a Hezbollah member who had been helping the Palestinian Hamas group in the Gaza Strip in planning an attack “against Israeli civilians.” It said the airstrike was “under the direction of the Shin Bet,” Israel’s domestic intelligence agency.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the airstrike.

“We must prevent any violation of sovereignty from abroad, or from infiltrators within who provide an additional pretext for aggression,” Aoun wrote in a statement posted on X. The former military chief vowed after his election in January that all weapons would be at the hands of the Lebanese state, indirectly referring to Hezbollah's arms.

Among those killed in the airstrike were Hezbollah official Hassan Bdeir and his son, Ali, according to a Hezbollah official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of not being authorized to speak publicly to the media. The official said that the two other people killed were their neighbors: two siblings, a young man and a woman.

Another Hezbollah official denied Israeli military statements that Bdeir was preparing an attack against Israel, adding that one of his jobs was to meet with Palestinian officials. Bdeir was not a senior official within Hezbollah and did not take any precautionary measures, the official said, adding that Bdeir was moving around and residing in his home normally before Tuesday’s airstrike.

Senior Hezbollah legislator Ali Ammar said the group does not want war.

“But at the same time, if war is imposed on Hezbollah … then Hezbollah is fully prepared to deter any assault," Ammar said in a statement to the press at the site of the airstrike.

Photos and videos widely shared on local and social media showed the top three floors of an apartment building damaged following the strike. Piles of debris on cars below the building can be seen.

Jets were heard in parts of the Lebanese capital before the strike near the Hay Madi neighborhood. During Israel's last war with Hezbollah, Israeli drones and jets regularly pounded the southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has wide influence and support. Israel sees the area as a militant stronghold and accuses the group of storing weapons there.

“We were at home. It was Eid al-Fitr,” said Hussein Nour El-Din, a resident in the neighborhood, referring to the Islamic holiday that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan. “We didn’t know where it happened, but once the smoke cleared we saw it was the building facing us.”

The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group, Sheikh Naim Kassem, warned Saturday that if Israel’s attacks on Lebanon continued and if Lebanon's government does not act to stop them, the group would eventually resort to other alternatives.

Under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire that ended the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war, Israeli forces were supposed to withdraw from all Lebanese territory by late January, while Hezbollah had to end its armed presence south of the Litani River along the border with Israel.

Israel has launched daily strikes in southern and eastern Lebanon since the U.S.-brokered ceasefire went into effect, saying it targets Hezbollah officials and infrastructure. The Lebanese military has gradually deployed in the country’s southern region, and Beirut has urged the international community to pressure Israel to stop attacks and withdraw its forces still present on five hilltops in Lebanese territory.

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Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.

Civil defence workers clean the debris after an apartemnet building was hit by Israeli targeted strike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, early Tuesday, April 1, 2025.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Damaged apartment buildings are seen after being struck earlier by an Israeli attack in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, early Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A man sits on a chair checks his mobile phone at the site where an Israeli airstrike hit a building in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, early Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Lebanese residents gather around damaged cars at the site where an Israeli airstrike hit a building in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, early Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Damaged apartments building are seen after being struck earlier by an Israeli targeted attack in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, early Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Lebanese army soldiers secure the area of an Israeli targeted strike on an apartment building in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, early Tuesday, April 1, 2025.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A man inspects debris that fell onto a car at the site where an apartment building was struck by an Israeli targeted attack in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, early Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Residents inspect debris that fell onto cars parked at the site where an apartment building was struck by an Israeli targeted attack in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, early Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Residents leave the area where an apartment building was struck by an Israeli targeted attack in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, early Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Residents inspect debris that fell onto cars parked at the site where an apartment building was struck by an Israeli targeted attack in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, early Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A man walks through debris at the site where an apartment building was struck by an Israeli targeted attack in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, early Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A damaged apartment building is seen after being struck earlier by an Israeli targeted attack in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, early Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A damaged apartment is seen after being hit by an Israeli targeted strike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, early Tuesday, April 1, 2025.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Debris sits on top of nearby vehicles after an Israeli targeted strike hit an apartment building in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, early Tuesday, April 1, 2025.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Civil defence and Lebanese army soldiers work at the site of an Israeli targeted strike on an apartment building in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, early Tuesday, April 1, 2025.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Debris sits on top of nearby vehicles after an Israeli targeted strike hit an apartment building in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, early Tuesday, April 1, 2025. The IDF confirmed it carried out the strike, targeting a Hezbollah operative, making it the second such attack since the November ceasefire. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A damaged apartment is seen after being hit by an Israeli targeted strike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, early Tuesday, April 1, 2025. The IDF reported that it conducted a strike on a southern Beirut suburb, aiming at a Hezbollah operative, marking the second such attack since the November ceasefire(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A damaged apartment is seen after being hit by an Israeli targeted strike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, early Tuesday, April 1, 2025. The IDF reported that it conducted a strike on a southern Beirut suburb, aiming at a Hezbollah operative, marking the second such attack since the November ceasefire.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Social Security Administration's acting commissioner is facing calls to resign after he issued an order — which was quickly rescinded — that would have required Maine parents to register their newborns for Social Security numbers at a federal office rather than the hospital.

Newly unearthed emails show that the March 5 decision was made as political payback to Maine's Governor Janet Mills, who has defied the Trump administration’s push to deny federal funding to the state over transgender athletes.

In the email addressed to the agency's staff, acting commissioner Leland Dudek, said, “no money will go from the public trust to a petulant child.” Staff members warned that terminating the contracts would result in improper payments and the potential for identity theft.

Dudek's order initially drew widespread condemnation from medical organizations and public officials, who described it as unnecessary and punitive. The practice of allowing parents to register a newborn for a Social Security number at a hospital or other birthing site, called the Enumeration at Birth program, has been common for decades.

Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree, one of two House members from Maine, said Dudek should resign immediately. She characterized Dudek’s actions as retaliation for Mills publicly opposing President Donald Trump.

“If a federal agency can be turned into a political hit squad at the whim of an acting appointee, what checks remain on executive power? Commissioner Dudek’s vindictive actions against Maine represent a fundamental betrayal of public trust that disqualifies him from public service,” Pingree said.

Mills said Wednesday that Social Security is being subjected to “rushed and reckless cuts” and needs leadership that treats it like a public trust. She said that is especially important in Maine, which has a high number of recipients.

“Social Security is not a scheme, as some have said, it’s a covenant between our government and its people. The Social Security Administration’s leadership must act in a manner that reflects this solemn obligation,” Mills said.

Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, sent a letter to Dudek on Tuesday, calling for his immediate resignation and a request that he sit for an interview with the committee.

“The American people deserve answers about your activities and communications in the time between President Trump’s February 21, 2025, public threat to Governor Mills and your February 27, 2025, order to cancel the enumeration at birth and electronic death registration contracts with the state of Maine, and about your knowledge that cancelling these contracts would lead to increased waste, fraud, and abuse," Connolly said in his letter.

Connolly, in a letter on Tuesday, said Democrats on the House oversight committee obtained internal emails from the Social Security Administration that he says shows Dudek cancelled the contracts to retaliate politically against Maine.

A representative from the Social Security Administration did not immediately respond to an Associated Press request for comment.

Dudek on a March 18th call with reporters to preview the agency's tighter identity-proofing measures, initially said the cancellation of the Maine contract happened “because I screwed up,” adding that he believed that the contract looked strange. “I made the wrong move there. I should always ask my staff for guidance first, before I cancel something. I’m new at this job."

He added, "Well, I was upset at the governor’s treatment, and I indicated in email as such, but the actual fact of the matter was it looked like a strange contract.”

“I'm not interested in political retaliation. I’m interested in serving the public.”

Maine has been the subject of federal investigations since Gov. Mills sparked the ire of Trump at a meeting of governors at the White House in February. During the meeting, Trump threatened to pull federal funding from Maine if the state does not comply with his executive order barring transgender athletes from sports.

Mills responded: “We’ll see you in court.”

The Trump administration then opened investigations into whether Maine violated the Title IX antidiscrimination law by allowing transgender athletes to participate in girls' sports. The Education Department issued a final warning on Monday that the state could face Justice Department enforcement soon if it doesn't come into compliance soon.

Whittle reported from Scarborough, Maine.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaking, is joined by, from left, Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., as they criticize efforts by President Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and Republicans in Congress to compromise Social Security, during a news conference, at the Capitol, in Washington, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

FILE - Democratic Gov. Janet Mills delivers her State of the State address, Jan. 30, 2024, at the State House in Augusta, Maine. Mills vetoed on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, a bill to establish a minimum hourly wage for agricultural workers that she initially submitted herself. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)