Israel launches airstrike on Lebanon’s capital Beirut

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Israel has attacked southern Beirut, hitting a top Hezbollah leader they said was responsible for killing children.

Video from Beirut shows the remains of many wrecked cars and tall buildings damaged by the explosion. Earlier this year, Israel carried out an airstrike in Beirut targeting Saleh al-Arouri, a senior member of Hamas, which led to his assassination.

Ever since Hamas launched an attack on Israel on October 7th, resulting in the deaths of approximately 1,000 individuals and the capture of 251 hostages, Hezbollah has been launching continuous attacks towards Israel. This has sparked fears that Israel may find itself engaged in a conflict on two separate fronts.

The Israeli military said they launched the attack in response to a rocket strike on the Golan Heights that resulted in the deaths of twelve children and young individuals.

The supposed person targeted in the attack was Fuad Shukr, also known as al-Hajj Mohsin, who is a high-ranking advisor on military matters to Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah. There are differing accounts about whether the attack was effective. The Israeli military says that Mr. Shukr was killed and referred to him as “the top military commander in Hezbollah” and the right-hand man of the militia leader. However, Hezbollah sources claim that he survived the strike.

According to Lebanon's public health ministry, one woman was killed and multiple people were injured in the attack. Al-Manar TV, affiliated with Hezbollah, reported that 17 injured individuals were transported to Bahman Hospital, while 14 were taken to Hezbollah's Rasoul Aazam hospital.

Hezbollah, which is supported by Iran, denied being the ones behind the recent attack on the Druze community in Golan Heights. However, Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, made it clear that they were fully aware of Hezbollah's involvement in the incident. While visiting the site of the attack in Majdal Shams, a Druze village that is part of the region annexed by Israel from Syria in 1981, Netanyahu promised to respond strongly to the attack.

American officials also stated that they thought Hezbollah was to blame for the attack. However, the new administration led by President Joe Biden advised Israel not to react too strongly to the incident in order to prevent further escalation of tensions.

Ambassadors urged Israel to refrain from attacking Beirut, the southern suburbs where Hezbollah is concentrated, and crucial infrastructure. They wanted Israel to keep its actions restrained in order to prevent Hezbollah from launching a strong counterattack.

However, the Israeli military stated that they had ignored the advice and attacked southern Beirut.

A post on X stated that the [Israeli military] conducted a precise attack in Beirut, targeting the leader who was responsible for the deaths of children in Majdal Shams and the murder of several other Israeli citizens.

Soon after the statement was released, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who is a close associate of Mr. Netanyahu, commented on X: "Hezbollah has gone too far."

The military confirmed that they have not made any adjustments to their defensive strategies, in relation to their preparations along Israel's northern border in case they need to take offensive action.

In April, the military announced that they had finished another part of getting ready for a potential war in the north. In a statement called "preparedness for switching from defense to attack", they shared that the completed phase focused on logistics for a large-scale mobilization of Israeli soldiers.

Later on Tuesday evening, Mr. Netanyahu had a meeting to evaluate the security situation with Mr. Gallant and the intelligence leaders of Israel.

On Tuesday, Hezbollah refused to listen to international envoys who had urged them not to retaliate against the expected Israeli strike.

Hezbollah told negotiators that they will retaliate to any Israeli attack, according to a spokesperson who sent written comments to journalists. The spokesperson did not disclose the countries the negotiators were from.

Foreign diplomats are hinting to us that we should refrain from retaliating to the impending attack by claiming that we should prevent further conflict and a full-blown war. This was stated by a representative from Hezbollah.

Hezbollah told them clearly that they do not agree with the request and will give a response, the official explained.

The team considered Israel's warnings to be important and had made necessary preparations, however, they were surprised by the decision to launch a ground attack according to the official.

Hezbollah was informed by mediators about diplomatic efforts to encourage Israel to avoid harming civilians and civilian buildings during any military operation. While this news is positive, the official mentioned that they do not trust their enemy.