Israeli Air Strike Targets Senior Hezbollah Commander in Beirut

Beirut, Lebanon:

An Israeli airstrike targeted a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut’s southern suburbs late on Tuesday in what the Israeli military said was retaliation for a cross-border rocket attack three days before that killed 12 children and teenagers.

A loud explosion was heard and a cloud of smoke could be seen rising above the southern suburbs – a fortress of the Iran-backed Lebanese armed group Hezbollah – at around 7:40 p.m. (1640 GMT), a Reuters witness said.

A high-ranking Lebanese security source mentioned that a senior Hezbollah commander had been the objective of the airstrike and his destiny remained uncertain.

Lebanon’s state-operated national news agency reported that an Israeli airstrike had targeted the vicinity around Hezbollah’s Shura Council in the Haret Hreik neighborhood of the capital.

Initial report- the IDF carried out a targeted strike in Beirut, on the commander responsible for the murder of the children in Majdal Shams and the killing of numerous additional Israeli civilians. At the moment, there are no changes in the Home Front Command defensive… pic.twitter.com/ja9PRE0cZM

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) July 30, 2024

Beirut has been tense for days ahead of an expected Israeli strike in retaliation for the rocket attack on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday that claimed the lives of the 12 youngsters in a football field in a Druze village.

Hezbollah has rejected any involvement in that assault.

In a statement, the Israeli military affirmed that it had carried out “a targeted strike in Beirut on the commander responsible for the murder of the children in Majdal Shams and the killing of numerous additional Israeli civilians”. Further details would be provided.

Earlier on Tuesday, additional rocket launches from south Lebanon resulted in the death of a civilian in a kibbutz in northern Israel, according to medical personnel.

Shortly before the explosion in south Beirut, the Israeli military reported that 15 projectiles had been launched across the Lebanese border in the past few hours, hitting parts of the Upper Galilee region. No casualties were reported.

Israel’s air force had just struck a Hezbollah observation post and “terror infrastructure” in south Lebanon, it added.

Concerns About Escalation

As diplomats attempted to control the consequences, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stated that he did not believe a conflict between Hezbollah and Israel was inevitable, although he remained apprehensive about the potential for escalation.

Hezbollah and Israel, which last engaged in a significant war in 2006, have been exchanging fire since the start of the Gaza war in October, after Hezbollah began firing at Israeli targets in what it describes as solidarity with the Palestinians.

The clashes have primarily been confined to the border region, and both sides have previously indicated that they do not desire a broader confrontation, despite concerns about the risk of sliding into war.

In the most recent exchange of fire on Tuesday, the Israeli military reported that 10 rockets had been launched from Lebanon, with one hitting Kibbutz Hagoshrim, resulting in one casualty. Israel’s ambulance service stated that the 30-year-old man died from shrapnel wounds.

Israel stated that it targeted around 10 Hezbollah sites in south Lebanon overnight and killed one Hezbollah combatant – actions that appeared consistent with the pattern of the last nine months. Hezbollah confirmed the death of one of its fighters.