Israel targets senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut strike, source claims

An Israeli strike targeted a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut's southern suburbs at dusk on Tuesday, a senior Lebanese security source said, adding that the commander's fate remained unclear. There was no immediate comment from Israel. A loud blast was heard and a plume of smoke could be seen rising above the southern suburbs - a stronghold of Lebanese armed group Hezbollah - at around 7:40 p.m. (1640 GMT), a Reuters witness said. Lebanon's state-run national news agency said an Israeli strike had targeted the area around Hezbollah's Shura Council in the Haret Hreik neighbourhood of the capital. Beirut has been on edge for days ahead of an anticipated Israeli attack in retaliation for a strike on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that killed a dozen youngsters. Israel and the United States have blamed Hezbollah for the attack. Hezbollah has denied responsibility. Earlier, A rocket attack on a football ground in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights killed 12 people, including children, on Saturday. Israeli authorities blamed Hezbollah and vowed to retaliate against the Iran-backed Lebanese group. Hezbollah denied responsibility for the strike, which was the deadliest in Israel or Israeli-controlled territory since the Gaza conflict began. The attack escalated tensions, raising fears of a full-blown conflict between the heavily armed adversaries. The rocket struck a football pitch in the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, territory captured by Israel from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in a move not recognised by most countries. Israel reacted with the severe actions on attack at the Golan Hieghts. later US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday that there was “every indication” that Lebanese group Hezbollah was behind a rocket strike in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights that killed 12 young people.