Israel has carried out an attack in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, that targeted a senior Hezbollah commander, the Israeli military said.
A loud blast was heard and a plume of smoke could be seen rising above the southern suburbs – a stronghold of the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah – on Tuesday evening.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said an Israeli air raid had targeted the area around Hezbollah’s Shura Council in the Haret Hreik neighbourhood of the capital and at least one person has been killed.
The Israeli military said it conducted “a targeted strike in Beirut on the commander responsible for the murder of the children in Majdal Shams and the killing of numerous additional Israeli civilians”.
Beirut has been bracing for a potential Israeli attack since 12 people including children were killed in a rocket attack on Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday.
Following the Majdal Shams attacks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also visited the town on Sunday and promised a “severe response”.
Israel and the United States have blamed the Lebanese armed group. But a high-ranking Hezbollah source pledged to Al Jazeera that the armed group would respond to any Israeli aggression in Lebanon, including a ground invasion.
Reporting from the Haret Hreik neighbourhood, Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr said that sources close to Hezbollah identified the target as Muhsin Shukr and told Al Jazeera he survived the assassination attempt.
Khodr said that Tuesday’s attack appears to be the promised response by the Israeli military against Hezbollah.
“Lebanon was bracing for this response, but earlier today, a high-ranking Hezbollah official said that no matter what kind of strike Israel carries out, Hezbollah will respond,” Khodr said.
Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said his government condemned the Israeli attack and planned to file a complaint to the United Nations.
He told the Reuters news agency he hoped any response by Hezbollah would not trigger an escalation.
Tuesday’s attack has been the first in the vicinity of Beirut since January, when an air raid killed top Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri. That attack was the first time Israel has hit Beirut since the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah in the summer of 2006.
Earlier, the Israeli military said its air force also struck a Hezbollah observation post in Aita al-Shaab and Kfar Kila in southern Lebanon. It added that “about fifteen launches were detected” crossing from Lebanon, saying that no casualties were reported.
White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre has said that the US does not believe war between Hezbollah and Israel is inevitable.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin also expressed hope on Tuesday that war between the pair could still be avoided.
“While we’ve seen a lot of activity on Israel’s northern border, we remain concerned about the potential of this escalating into a full-blown fight. And I don’t believe that a fight is inevitable,” he said.
However, the stakes continue to rise as both Israel and Hezbollah fire across their shared border and accuse one another of atrocities.
