President Trump on Sunday publicly rebuked Israel over its strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs, saying the attack “should not have happened” and calling on all sides to stand down as his administration races to finalize a ceasefire and nuclear framework deal with Iran.

The IDF said it launched strikes on Beirut Sunday targeting Hezbollah infrastructure, with smoke rising over the Lebanese capital. Lebanon’s state news agency said two people were killed in the strikes.

Israel said the operation was a direct response to a Hezbollah attack. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strikes answered Hezbollah missiles fired at northern Israel earlier Sunday, which the Israeli military said it intercepted. Israeli officials said the Beirut strike targeted a Hezbollah command center in Dahieh, a Shia district known as a Hezbollah stronghold.

The IDF notified CENTCOM about its strike on Hezbollah targets in Beirut’s Dahiyeh district shortly before the attack took place, according to Israeli and U.S. officials.

Trump, who had been moving toward announcing a deal with Iran as soon as Sunday, responded within hours with an unusually pointed statement posted to Truth Social. While reaffirming Israel’s right to self-defense, the president made clear he viewed the strike as a costly distraction at a critical diplomatic moment.

“This morning’s attack on Beirut should not have happened, particularly on a special day when we are so close to a Peace Deal with Iran,” Trump wrote. “Israel has the right to defend itself against threats, but the attack it was responding to was very small and meaningless, nobody was hurt, injured, or killed, and should not disrupt this important process.”

Trump called on all parties to stop shooting. “There should be no more attacks by Israel anywhere in Lebanon, but there should also be no more attacks by any other party, including Hezbollah, against Israel,” he wrote. “This could be the beginning of a long and beautiful peace – Let’s not blow it!”

“We are very close to a Deal that will bring peace to the region, including to Lebanon, and all sides should stand down.”

The strikes threatened to hamper negotiations over a deal, which in its current form is already a deep disappointment to Israel’s government. Israeli officials have been openly uneasy with the emerging U.S.-Iran framework, which punts key nuclear questions – including dismantlement of enrichment facilities – to a 60-day follow-on negotiation rather than locking them in upfront.

The Beirut strike added a new layer of tension to an already fragile diplomatic moment. Iran threatened last week to launch a missile attack against Israel if it attacked Beirut, while the U.S. has backed Israel’s right to self-defense. A senior Iranian official warned that the Dahiyeh strike “will not go unanswered.” A U.S. defense official said American forces in the Middle East “are prepared for defense” in case Iran carries out its threats and launches new attacks.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said the military is “closely monitoring developments” across the region.

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