 "Israel targets Hezbollah leadership in rare Beirut strike in months; five killed, several injured")
Israel said it carried out an air strike in Beirut on Sunday targeting Hezbollah’s chief of staff, hitting an apartment building in the capital — an escalation the Iran-backed group said crossed a “red line.”
Lebanon’s health ministry said five people were killed and 28 wounded, without identifying the victims. The strike hit the Haret Hreik neighbourhood in Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold.
Hezbollah confirmed a senior commander was the intended target but withheld the name. An Israeli government spokeswoman also declined to identify the individual.
An AFP correspondent reported that the blast ripped through the third and fourth floors of a nine-storey building. Debris littered the street, damaging cars, as rescue crews searched inside for survivors. Ambulances and fire crews evacuated a wounded woman on a stretcher, while Lebanese soldiers secured the area. The National News Agency said three missiles struck the building.
Netanyahu orders strike amid vow of ‘maximum enforcement’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he authorised the operation — the latest Israeli strike inside Lebanon despite a year-long ceasefire with Hezbollah.
“In the heart of Beirut, the IDF attacked the Hezbollah chief of staff, who had been leading the terrorist organisation’s build-up and rearmament,” the statement said. “Israel is determined to act to achieve its objectives everywhere and at all times.”
Defence Minister Israel Katz issued a sharp warning:
“Anyone who raises a hand against Israel will have his hand cut off.”
He said Israel would continue its policy of “maximum enforcement.”
Hezbollah official Mahmud Qomati, speaking at the site, said the attack “crosses a new red line.”
“The targeting was clearly aimed at a key… figure in the resistance,” he added, without naming the person.
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View AllSunday’s strike was the first in Beirut’s southern suburbs since June 5, when Israel said it hit a Hezbollah drone factory.
A weakened Hezbollah faces growing pressure
Hezbollah has been weakened since it opened fronts against Israel in support of Hamas in Gaza in October 2023, a confrontation that escalated into two months of war. Since then, Israel and the United States have increased pressure on Lebanon to curb the group’s military operations — demands Hezbollah rejects.
“Hezbollah will not be allowed to rearm and operate inside of Lebanon and we expect Lebanon to hold Hezbollah’s feet to the fire on this,” Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian said.
“Hezbollah’s terrorist activities constitute a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon and the IDF will continue to operate to remove any threats to the citizens of Israel,” she added.
Netanyahu earlier told his cabinet that Israel “will continue to do everything necessary to prevent Hezbollah from re-establishing its threat capability against us.”
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun urged the international community to intervene to stop Israeli attacks, saying Beirut “reiterates its call… to intervene firmly and seriously to stop the attacks on Lebanon and its people.”
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