Israel Targets Hezbollah Chief of Staff in Beirut Strike: 5 Dead, 28 Injured

Israel's military conducted a precise strike in Beirut without providing additional details.

In Beirut, Israel executed an air strike on Sunday targeting Hezbollah's chief of staff, hitting an apartment building in an operation that the Iran-backed militant group declared crossed a red line.

According to Lebanon's health ministry, the strike resulted in five fatalities and 28 injuries. The identities of those killed were not disclosed.

The attack occurred in Haret Hreik within Beirut's southern suburbs, a densely populated area under Hezbollah's influence.

Hezbollah acknowledged that a senior commander was targeted, while an Israeli government spokeswoman declined to reveal the target's identity at this stage.

An AFP correspondent at the location reported that the strike impacted the third and fourth floors of a nine-storey building.

Debris scattered across the road below, with a damaged car in the street. Dust rose from the structure as rescue workers searched the apartments for survivors.

Ambulances and fire crews rushed to the scene, with rescuers evacuating an injured woman on a stretcher. A crowd gathered in the street while Lebanese soldiers secured the site.

Lebanon's official National News Agency reported that three missiles were fired at the building.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office stated he ordered the attack—the latest against targets in Lebanon despite a year-long ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

"In the heart of Beirut, the IDF (Israeli military) attacked the Hezbollah chief of staff, who had been leading the terrorist organisation's build-up and rearmament," the premier's office announced in a statement.

"Israel is determined to act to achieve its objectives everywhere and at all times."

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned: "Anyone who raises a hand against Israel will have his hand cut off," adding that Israel would "continue the policy of maximum enforcement".

Hezbollah official Mahmud Qomati told reporters that Sunday's attack "crosses a new red line".

"The targeting was clearly aimed at a key... figure in the resistance, and the results are unknown," he added at the strike location, without revealing the person's identity.

Israel has conducted regular strikes in Lebanon since the November 2024 ceasefire that aimed to end over a year of hostilities with Hezbollah, claiming it targets group members or infrastructure in the country's south and east.

Sunday's strike, however, marked the first on Beirut's southern suburbs since June 5, when Israel reported hitting a Hezbollah drone factory.

Hezbollah was weakened by its conflict with Israel, which began in support of its ally Hamas in Gaza in October 2023 with cross-border exchanges of fire that later escalated into two months of full-scale war.

Since then, Lebanon has faced increasing Israeli and US pressure to disarm Hezbollah, a demand the group has rejected.

"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 reiterated after Sunday's strike.

"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 told reporters.

Netanyahu earlier Sunday told a cabinet meeting that Israel "will continue to do everything necessary to prevent Hezbollah from re-establishing its threat capability against us".

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called on the international community to intervene firmly to stop Israeli attacks on the country.

Beirut "reiterates its call to the international community to assume its responsibility and intervene firmly and seriously to stop the attacks on Lebanon and its people", he said in a statement.