Israel says it has struck Beirut, targeting the commander accused in deaths of 12 youth in Golan
Beirut, Jul 30: Israel's military said Tuesday it carried out a strike on Beirut targeting the commander allegedly behind the deaths of 12 children and teens in a rocket attack on the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights over the weekend.
Israel has blamed the rocket attack on the Hezbollah group, which has denied any role in the Saturday attack. "Hezbollah crossed a red line,” Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant posted on the platform X shortly after Tuesday's strike.
The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not immediately release a statement, but minutes after the strike sent a photo of the prime minister with his national security advisor and other officials.
A Hezbollah official and the group's TV station said that an Israeli airstrike hit Hezbollah's stronghold south of Beirut on Tuesday evening, causing damage.
The airstrike on Beirut's southern suburb of Haret Hreik damaged several buildings but it was not immediately clear if any Hezbollah official was hit, the Hezbollah official said on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
The strike hit an apartment building next to a hospital, collapsing half of the targeted building. The hospital sustained minor damages, while the surrounding streets were littered with debris and broken glass.
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported that the airstrike in the southern Beirut suburb was carried out with a drone that launched three rockets.
The last time Israel targeted Beirut was in January, when an airstrike killed a top Hamas official, Saleh Arouri. That strike was the first time Israel had hit Beirut since the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah in the summer of 2006.
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Hezbollah fires over 180 rockets, other projectiles into Israel, wounding at least 7
Beirut, Nov 24: Hezbollah fired at least 185 rockets and other projectiles into Israel on Sunday, wounding seven people in the group's heaviest barrage in several days, in response to deadly Israeli strikes in Beirut while negotiators pressed on with cease-fire efforts to halt the all-out war.
Meanwhile, an Israeli strike on a Lebanese army centre killed one soldier and wounded 18 others on the southwestern coastal road between Tyre and Naqoura, Lebanon's military said. Israel's military expressed regret and said the strike occurred in an area of combat against Hezbollah, adding that its operations are directed solely against the Hezbollah group. The strike was under review.
Israeli strikes have killed over 40 Lebanese troops since the start of the war between Israel and Hezbollah, even as Lebanon's military has largely kept to the sidelines.
Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned the latest strike as an assault on US-led cease-fire efforts, calling it a “direct, bloody message rejecting all efforts and ongoing contacts” to end the war.
