Israel targets Hezbollah chief in first strike on Beirut in months

Israel on Sunday struck Lebanons capital Beirut for the first time since June saying it targeted Hezbollahs chief of staff and warning the Iranbacked militant group not to rearm and rebuild a year after their latest warHezbollah said the strike launched almost exactly a year after a ceasefire ended that IsraelHezbollah war threatened an escalation of attacks just days before Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to visit Lebanon on his first foreign tripWe will continue to act forcefully to prevent any threat to the residents of the north and the state of Israel Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement Government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian did not say whether Israel informed the US before the strike saying only that Israel makes decisions independentlyThe strike in Beiruts southern suburbs killed at least one person and wounded 21 others Lebanons Health Ministry said Israel did not issue an evacuation warning before the strike and did not name the person targeted Bedrosian said the Hezbollah chief of staff led the strengthening and arming of the terrorist organisationMahmoud Qamati deputy chair of Hezbollahs political council told journalists that a highranking militant may have been killed but did not give detailsHezbollahs leadership is studying the matter of response and will take the appropriate decision Qamati said at the site of the attack The strike on the southern suburbs today opens the door to an escalation of assaults all over LebanonIsraeli airstrikes over southern Lebanon have intensified in recent weeks while Israel and the United States have pressured Lebanon to disarm the powerful militant group Israel asserts that Hezbollah is trying to rebuild its military capabilities in southern Lebanon The Lebanese government which has approved its militarys plan that would disarm Hezbollah has denied those claimsLebanons President Joseph Aoun in a statement condemned Sundays strike and accused Israel of refusing to implement its end of the ceasefire agreement He called on the international community to intervene with strength and seriousness to stop the attacks on Lebanon and its peopleSmoke could be seen in the busy Haret Hreik neighbourhood A video circulated on social media showed dozens of people crowded around the area of the strike which appeared to be on the fourth floor of an apartment building Gunshots could be heard to disperse crowds as emergency workers arrivedThis is definitely a civilian area and void of any military presence especially the neighbourhood where we stand Hezbollah parliamentarian Ali Ammar told reporters near the siteAn Israeli drone was flying near the building targeted The Lebanese military cordoned off the area the staterun National News Agency reportedLebanon and United Nations peacekeepers have been critical of ongoing Israeli attacks in the country and accuse Israel of violating the ceasefire agreementAoun last week said the country is ready to enter negotiations with Israel to stop its airstrikes and to withdraw from five hilltop points it occupies on Lebanese territory It was unclear if Israel would agreeAoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam say they are committed to disarming all nonstate actors in the country including HezbollahThe latest IsraelHezbollah war began Oct 8 2023 a day after Hamas attacked southern Israel as Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel in solidarity with Hamas Israel launched a widespread bombardment of Lebanon last year that severely weakened Hezbollah followed by a ground invasionThat war was the most recent of several conflicts involving Hezbollah over the past four decades It killed more than 4000 people in Lebanon including hundreds of civilians and caused an estimated USD 11 billion worth of destruction according to the World Bank In Israel 127 people died including 80 soldiersOn Tuesday an Israeli strike killed 13 people in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein elHilweh near the southern city of Sidon in the deadliest attack since the ceasefire went into effect The military said it targeted a military facility belonging to the Palestinian Hamas militant group Hamas denied it has any military facilities in the crowded campThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever