Israel has carried out an airstrike in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut for the first time in months, targeting a senior member of the Hezbollah militant group, despite the ceasefire.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the target was Hezbollah’s chief of staff. Israeli media reports identified him as Ali Tabtai and described him as the group’s number two.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said at least five people were killed and 28 others were wounded in the attack, which hit an apartment building in the densely populated district of Dahieh. It was not immediately clear if the person killed was Tabtai.
Hezbollah confirmed that the attack targeted a senior commander, but did not reveal his identity.
The attack comes as Israel has intensified its campaign against people and targets it claims are linked to Hezbollah – an Iran-backed Shiite Muslim group – despite a US-French-brokered ceasefire that came into effect last November.
Israeli officials say Hezbollah has been trying to rebuild its military capabilities, is smuggling weapons into Lebanon and increasing production of explosive drones as an alternative to rockets and missiles, and there are growing fears of an escalation of hostilities.
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun has urged the international community to pressure Israel – which continues to occupy at least five sites in southern Lebanon – to stop attacks and withdraw from the country, saying Israeli actions are a violation of the agreement that ended 13 months of conflict.
The Lebanese government has promised to disarm Hezbollah, but the group has rejected calls to discuss the future of its weapons before Israel stops its attacks, withdraws completely from Lebanon and releases Lebanese prisoners.
A Western diplomatic official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the BBC that authorities are under pressure from the Trump administration, which is increasingly impatient with what they see as slow progress against the group, considered a terrorist organization by countries including the United States and the United Kingdom.
The latest conflict between Israel and Hezbollah erupted after the Lebanese group began firing rockets at Israeli positions the day after the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023. Hezbollah said it was acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Lebanese authorities said Israel’s strikes killed about 4,000 people there – including many civilians – and displaced more than 1.2 million residents. Israeli authorities said more than 80 of their soldiers and 47 of their civilians were killed in the hostilities.
The US government imposed sanctions on Tabtai in 2016 and designated him a terrorist. It is offering a $5m (£3.8m) prize for information about him.
