Israel strikes Lebanon because it targets Hezbollah chief behind bloodbath

Israel launched a targeted airstrike on the Lebanese capital tonight in a dramatic bid to eliminate a senior Hezbollah commander.

The missile attack at 7.40pm local time followed a terrorist attack on the Golan Heights on Saturday which killed 12 children.

An Israeli attack on Beirut had been anticipated following the Hezbollah strike on a playground.

Tonight, video footage showed an apartment block ablaze and a sense of panic in the southern suburb of Haret Hreik.

Tensions were extremely high as paramedics were seen removing casualties from several damaged buildings, including a hospital.

Sky TV journalist Alex Crawford was confronted by angry locals while she attempted to broadcast live from the scene of the blast.

The aftermath of an Israeli airstrike launched on the Lebanese capital tonight in a dramatic bid to eliminate a senior Hezbollah commander

According to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency, there is a Hezbollah headquarters, a ‘Shura Council’, in Haret Hreik

An ambulance makes it way through the crowd.  Tonight, video footage showed an apartment block ablaze and a sense of panic in the southern suburb of Haret Hreik

According to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency, there is a Hezbollah headquarters, a ‘Shura Council’, in Haret Hreik.

Unconfirmed reports suggested the specific target of the Israeli strike was Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr.

An Israeli attack on Beirut had been anticipated following Hezbollah’s rocket attack at the weekend.

The rocket was thought to have been fired by mistake. Even so, as children had lost their lives, Israel said the group had ‘crossed a red line’.

Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant repeated the phrase in a message posted on X just minutes after yesterday’s airstrike.

Earlier this week, the UK issued a plea for Britons to leave Lebanon urgently – over fears of a wider conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

In the event UK citizens remain stranded there, the Royal Navy and Royal Marines are expected to lead a maritime evacuation mission.

As the Mail has previously revealed, UK commandos have conducted reconnaissance operations along the Lebanese coastline to aid such an operation.

Medical staff in Beirut attend to an injured man after Israeli strike. Tensions were extremely high as paramedics were seen removing casualties from several damaged buildings, including a hospital

An Israeli attack on Beirut had been anticipated following the Hezbollah strike on a playground over the weekend which killed 12 children. 

Israel and Hezbollah have been engaged in a low-scale conflict since the Hamas attacks of October 7th last year. Tit-for-tat attacks have continued since then. Prime Minister Netanyahu has said repeatedly that Israel’s strategic priority remains the eradication of Hamas

Tonight, it remained unclear how many casualties had resulted from the Israeli airstrike, likewise the fate of Shukr.

As US diplomats have pleaded with Israel not to escalate the conflict, last night’s strike could prove a one-off by Israel.

However, should Hezbollah respond by striking the northern Israeli city of Haifa, which is within range of its rockets, then a wider war could start.

Israel is considered reluctant to take on Hezbollah while it remains entangled with Hamas in Gaza.

Israel and Hezbollah have been engaged in a low-scale conflict since the Hamas attacks of October 7th last year. Tit-for-tat attacks have continued since then.

The last time Israel targeted Beirut was in January, when an airstrike killed a top Hamas official based in the city, Saleh Arouri.

That strike was the first time Israel had struck the Lebanese capital since the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006.

Prime Minister Netanyahu has said repeatedly that Israel’s strategic priority remains the eradication of Hamas.