Israel said that its attack on Beirut killed a Hezbollah commander

Tuesday’s uncommon hit on Beirut was carried out by Israel, which claimed to have killed a senior Hezbollah commander who was thought to be responsible for the weekend missile attack in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights that claimed the lives of twelve youths. At least one mother and two children were killed in the strike in the capital of Lebanon, while several more were injured.

The commander’s death was not immediately confirmed by Hezbollah. The attack occurred as tensions with the extremist Lebanese organization grew more intense. According to an Israeli source, the target was Fouad Shukur, a senior military figure in Hezbollah who the United States holds responsible for organizing and carrying out the fatal Marine bombing of the Lebanese capital in 1983.

The official was not permitted to discuss the specifics of the strike with the media, so he talked under pseudonymity. Shukur is also suspected in other strikes that killed Israeli civilians.

The Role of the Hezbollah Commander in Recent Conflicts

Israel is holding the terrorist organization accountable for the missile attack that occurred in the village of Majdal Shams on Saturday, despite Hezbollah’s unusual denial of any participation. Shortly after Tuesday’s attack, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant tweeted on platform X, saying, “Hezbollah crossed a red line.”

In the context of the Gaza War, the two sides have been exchanging nearly daily attacks for the last ten months; nevertheless, in the past, they have managed to keep the conflict at a low level that was unlikely to turn into a full-scale confrontation.

According to Lebanon’s public health ministry, 74 people were hurt in Tuesday’s attack in a southern Beirut suburb, several of them critically. The injured were sent to adjacent hospitals. Blood donations were requested by Bahman Hospital, which is close to the bomb site. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that the strike was carried out with a drone that launched three rockets.

“The Israeli enemy has committed a great stupid act in size, timing and circumstances by targeting an entirely civilian area,” Hezbollah official Ali Ammar told Al-Manar TV. “The Israeli enemy will pay a price for this sooner or later.”

Najib Mikati, the acting prime minister of Lebanon, denounced the Israeli strike, pointing out that it occurred within a short distance from one of the biggest hospitals in the city.

Although Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office sent a picture of the prime minister alongside his national security adviser and other officials shortly after the attack, they did not immediately issue a comment.

Many buildings were destroyed in the bombing on the southern suburb of Beirut, Haret Hreik, a busy urban area full of small businesses and apartment complexes where Hezbollah conducts political and security operations.

According to a Hezbollah spokesman, it was not immediately apparent if any officials were injured. When asked by The Associated Press if a top Hezbollah security officer had escaped the airstrike, a Lebanese military intelligence official said they had no information. Both officials talked under the required anonymity due to regulatory requirements.

Half of the targeted building collapsed and one adjacent to it sustained significant damage as a result of the strike on an apartment complex next to a hospital. While shattered glass and debris were all over the neighboring streets, the hospital only suffered minimal damage.

Utility workers were removing downed power wires while a forklift in the center of the road reached the upper stories of the demolished structure. People came in large numbers to look over the devastation and see how their relatives were doing. A few of them yelled in favor of Hezbollah.

Numerous injured persons were spotted being taken out of the destroyed buildings by paramedics.

About 200 meters (yards) away, a suburban neighbor said that his son’s apartment had shattered glass and that the explosion had “covered everything” in dust.

“Then people went down on the streets,” he said. “Everyone has family. They went to check on them. It was a lot of destruction.” He spoke on condition of anonymity out of concern about his security at a tense moment.

Hassan Noureddine said he was riding his motorcycle near the building when he heard the sound of two explosions. “It looked like a strike from a drone and not a jet,” Noureddine told the AP near the site of the attack.

Noureddine stated that he and other people he knows in the neighborhood are not deterred and that their spirits are strong despite worries of an increase and a strike in recent days.

Hezbollah’s main political ally in Lebanon, the Shiite Amal Movement, has a local politician named Talal Hatoum. Hatoum argued that Tuesday’s strike changed the rules of engagement in the battle since it resulted in a large number of civilian fatalities.

Israeli airstrikes that murdered key Hamas official Saleh Arouri in January marked the last time Israel hit Beirut. Following their 34-day conflict with Hezbollah in the summer of 2006, Israel has not attacked Beirut until that particular strike.

Since the attack in Majdal Shams, Israel had been anticipated to respond, but in recent days, officials have expressed their expectation that this reaction would keep Israel and Hezbollah inside the parameters of their current low-level confrontation and avoid starting a full-scale war.

Many of them had not anticipated that Israel would attack Beirut, which may provoke Hezbollah to launch an attack on one of Israel’s main cities.

Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the UN special coordinator for Lebanon, expressed her “deep concern” about the strike and urged “calm to prevail” in a statement.

In reference to Hezbollah, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris stated that Israel “has the right to defend itself against the terrorist organization,” but she also stated that “we still must work on a diplomatic solution to end these attacks, and we will continue to do that work.”

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