Israel has carried out an air strike on the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, for the first time in months, targeting a senior member of the militant group Hezbollah, despite a ceasefire.
The office of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the target was Hezbollah’s chief of staff.
Israeli media reports identified him as Ali Tabtai, describing him as the group’s number two.
Lebanon’s health ministry said at least one person had been killed and 21 others wounded in the strike, which hit an apartment building in the densely populated Dahieh district. It was not immediately clear if the person killed was Tabtai.
The attack happens as Israel has escalated its campaign on people and targets it says are linked to Hezbollah – a Shia Muslim group supported by Iran – despite a ceasefire brokered by the US and France that came into effect last November.
Israeli officials say Hezbollah has been trying to rebuild its military capabilities, is smuggling weapons into Lebanon and stepping up the production of explosive drones as an alternative to rockets and missiles, and there are growing fears of an escalation of hostilities.
The Lebanese government has urged the international community to put pressure on Israel – which continues to occupy at least five locations in southern Lebanon – to stop the attacks and withdraw from the country, saying the Israeli actions are a violation of the agreement that put an end to 13 months of conflict.
The Lebanese government has vowed to disarm Hezbollah, but the group has rejected calls to discuss the future of its weapons before Israel stops its attacks, fully withdraws from Lebanon, and releases Lebanese prisoners.
The latest conflict between Israel and Hezbollah erupted after the Lebanese group started firing rockets at Israeli positions the day after the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023. Hezbollah said it was acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Lebanese authorities said Israel’s attacks killed about 4,000 people there – including many civilians – and led to the displacement of more than 1.2 million residents. Israeli authorities said more than 80 of its soldiers and 47 of its civilians were killed in the hostilities.
The US government imposed sanctions on Tabtai in 2016 and designated him a terrorist. It has a $5m (£3.8m) award on offer for information about him.
