US President Donald Trump said Israel and Hezbollah should immediately halt attacks on each other, adding that strikes on Beirut should not have taken place on a day when a peace deal is close, according to his statement.

Trump said Israel has the right to defend itself in the face of any threat, but added that the strike it was responding to was very minor, with no deaths or injuries reported.

He said the parties are close to an agreement that would bring peace to the region, including Lebanon, and said there should be no further Israeli attacks on Lebanon, nor any attacks on Israel by Hezbollah or other parties.

“This could be the beginning of a long and beautiful peace,” he said, urging all sides not to sabotage the process.

Earlier, Israel said its military attacked Hezbollah targets in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday after the Iran-aligned armed group fired into Israeli territory, and the Lebanese state news agency said two people were killed.

The Israeli military said earlier that Hezbollah had launched three projectiles towards communities ​in northern Israel, calling it a blatant ceasefire violation.

“The IDF has now attacked terrorist targets of the Hezbollah terrorist ​organisation in the Dahiyeh neighbourhood of Beirut, in response to Hezbollah’s firing into Israeli territory,” a joint ⁠statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said.

Mohammad Jafar Asadi, deputy commander of Iran’s Khatam Al-Anbiya Central Command, said Israel’s actions in Beirut would not go unpunished and that the Israeli army’s attack on the Lebanese capital would “definitely be responded to.”

“There is no doubt that Israel will be avenged for these crimes,” Asadi said, referring to the strike on Beirut’s Dahiya district.

Asadi said the attack came at a time when Iran and the United States were close to signing a draft agreement.

Bagher Qalibaf, speaker of Iran’s parliament and a key member of the negotiating team, also strongly condemned the Israeli strike on Lebanon.

“The Zionist incursion into Dahiyeh has once again proven that America is either not firm in fulfilling its promises or does not have the ability to do so,” Qalibaf said.

“You cannot make concessions by giving us a green signal. The game of good and bad soldiers is now outdated. If you are not capable of fulfilling your promises, then negotiations to follow this path are not possible,” he added.