 "Lebanese soldiers cordon off the area at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburbs, on Thursday. AP")
The Israeli military said on Thursday its latest strike on south Beirut killed Mohammed Srur, the head of Hezbollah’s drone unit, who a source close to the group had earlier said was the target.
“Following precise intelligence guidance from the Air Force and the Intelligence Division, fighter jets targeted and eliminated (Srur), the commander of Hezbollah’s air unit, in Beirut,” AFP quoted a military statement as saying.
Srur studied mathematics and was among a number of top advisers sent by Hezbollah to Yemen to train the country’s Houthi rebels, who are also backed by Iran, AFP quoted a source close to Hezbollah as saying.
Earlier, Lebanon’s health ministry had said that the strike killed two people and injured 15.
“The Israeli enemy strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs killed two people and wounded 15, including a woman in critical condition,” AFP quoted a ministry statement as saying.
Meanwhile, some 40 rockets were fired from Lebanon into the Upper Galilee a short while ago, according to a Times of Israel report, citing the IDF.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsIDF said sirens were activated in several northern communities and some of the rockets were intercepted by air defences, while others landed in open areas.
Confirming the “targeted strike” on south Beirut earlier, the IDF said it will provide further details on the strike in the Lebanese capital soon, reported Times of Israel.
Meanwhile, Israel on Thursday flatly rejected a push led by key backer the US for a 21-day ceasefire in Lebanon, vowing to keep fighting Hezbollah militants “until victory”.
Israeli bombing of Iran-backed Hezbollah strongholds around Lebanon has killed hundreds of people this week, while the militant group has retaliated with rocket barrages.
“There will be no ceasefire in the north. We will continue to fight against the Hezbollah terrorist organisation with all our strength until victory and the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes,” Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a post on X.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issued a statement earlier saying he had “not even responded” to the truce proposal, and that he had ordered the military “to continue the fighting with full force”.
The United States, France and other allies called for a 21-day halt, after President Joe Biden and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
The situation in Lebanon has become “intolerable” and “is in nobody’s interest, neither of the people of Israel nor of the people of Lebanon,” their joint statement read.
Despite these diplomatic efforts, violence raged on the ground.
With inputs from agencies