Israeli forces reportedly attacked the top military official of Lebanon's Iran-aligned faction the Hezbollah organization in a strike on the capital's southern district, per the Israeli prime minister's office on the weekend.
This represented the initial airstrike in months on the southern district of the Lebanese capital, an region recognized for sheltering officials from the group.
The target of the operation was the military official the Hezbollah chief of staff, as reported by an Israeli source briefed on the strike and a Lebanese security source. The PM's office did not confirm whether the official was killed.
A senior US official stated that Israel failed to inform the US administration beforehand about the strike, according to a online report.
The official added that the administration was notified right after the incident, and a another American official said that the US had known for several days that Israel was planning to intensify strikes in Lebanon.
The United States imposed restrictions on the Hezbollah official in 2016, labeling him as a key military figure in the group and announcing a reward of up to five million dollars for intel on him.
The airstrike hit a primary street in Beirut's southern area, where locals reported detecting the noise of warplanes before the explosion.
Civilians rushed out of their homes out of concern of additional attacks, per a reporter in the zone.
No fewer than two individuals were fatally wounded and several dozen were injured and taken to medical facilities in the vicinity, as reported by hospital staff.
There was no prompt response from the group.
Israeli strikes on Hezbollah over the recent period have eliminated its previous chief the group's past leader, much of the senior military leadership and about 5,000 fighters.
The prime minister told his government ministers on the morning of the incident before the attack that the country would continue to confront “terrorism” on various arenas.
“We will continue to do everything needed to hinder the group from rebuilding its capacity to threaten us,” he stated.
Israel has escalated air attacks in southern Lebanon, continuing a campaign of near-daily attacks that it claims is aimed to hinder a resurgence of forces by the faction in the frontier region.
Israel has charged the group of seeking to restock weapons since a US-backed ceasefire recently.
The faction claims it has followed requirements for it to cease its military presence in the frontier area near Israel, and for the national army to position there.
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