Beirut
CNN
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Israel To tell Attack launched in BeirutIt accused Lebanese Hezbollah commanders of being responsible for the deadly attack in Israeli-occupied territory. Golan Heights.
The attack killed at least one person and injured several others, according to the Lebanese state news agency NNA. The injured, some of whom were seriously injured, were taken to a nearby hospital.
“Hezbollah has crossed a red line,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a social media post minutes after the Israeli military claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s retaliatory attack. The Iranian-backed group denies it was behind the Golan Heights attack three days ago.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir said in a separate post on his official X account that “every dog has its day.”
The series of attacks marks the most significant escalation by Israel since tensions between Israel and Hezbollah escalated after October 7.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had “carried out an attack in Beirut targeting commanders responsible for the murder of the Majdal Shams children and numerous Israeli civilians,” without giving details about how the attack was carried out.
Israeli officials identified the target as Fuad Shukr, alias al-Hajj Mohsin. According to the US State Department, Shukr is a senior adviser to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and serves on the group’s “highest military body, the Jihad Council.” Government Websites.
The U.S. Department of State $5 million reward for information In September 2019, the State Department designated Shukr a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist pursuant to Executive Order 13224,” more than four years after the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on him. 2 more Hezbollah leaders.
A Lebanese government official told CNN that Shukr survived the Israeli attack.
A senior Israeli official said Israel wanted to send a “very strong message” with Tuesday’s attack but wanted to avoid further escalation of tensions.
“We do not want this to escalate into a wider war. Whether this ultimately escalates will depend a lot on how Hezbollah responds now,” a senior Israeli official told CNN.
The Iranian embassy in Lebanon, in a post on X, condemned the Israeli attack on Beirut, calling it a “cowardly and sinful Israeli aggression that claimed the lives of many martyrs and wounded.”
NNA reported that the attack was carried out by a drone which fired three missiles.
The attack hit a densely populated southern suburb of the Lebanese capital, a stronghold of the militant group, according to Hezbollah-run Al-Manar TV station.
Reuters video showed the aftermath of the attack in southern Beirut, with emergency responders and passersby walking through streets covered in rubble, bricks and other debris near the targeted buildings. Several vehicles parked on one street appeared to have been damaged by debris falling from surrounding buildings.
Video obtained by CNN shows a huge plume of smoke rising from the scene of the attack.
A CNN reporter at the scene saw chaotic scenes as ambulances and fire engines rushed to the targeted building, and paramedics removed injured people on stretchers.
The attack destroyed at least five floors of some of the targeted buildings, according to CNN’s analysis of images and video.
Photos and video of the aftermath analyzed by CNN showed the bomb targeted the south side of the building, which suffered heavy damage, with entire slabs of concrete either hanging precariously or reduced to cliffs of rubble.
A CNN reporter at the scene reported that there was little visible damage to the surrounding buildings. Windows appeared to be largely intact, and businesses in the area also appeared to be untouched by the attack. The Lebanese army has sealed off part of the perimeter around the building.
The targeted building is next to Bahman Hospital. No photos or videos were immediately available showing damage to the hospital, and it was unclear whether any damage occurred. CNN was unable to reach the hospital for comment.
Israel vowed that Hezbollah would “pay a price” over a rocket attack on a soccer field in Majdal Shams, near the Syrian-Lebanese border, earlier this week that killed 12 children and wounded 44 others.
Israel and the United States have said the rocket was fired by Lebanese Hezbollah forces, which denied responsibility for the attack but said it was fired at Israeli military targets in the area.
New close-up footage was released on Tuesday showing the moment the soccer stadium was attacked, showing children playing in a small park next to the field as sirens begin to sound, and they appear anxious but make no initial attempt to evacuate.
The sound of a rocket flying by is then heard, quickly followed by a deafening bang as the rocket appears to hit the ground just metres from the camera, knocking the girl holding the phone to the ground. Briefly, the camera captures a huge fireball caused by the explosion.
Children scream and run with other children behind a wall. A mother runs to safety screaming, “Mommy! Mommy!” Alarm sirens can be heard, likely caused by an explosion. The video ends approximately 30 seconds after the rocket hits.
Saturday’s attack sparked fears that all-out war could engulf the region.
Israel notified the United States before carrying out the attack, according to a source familiar with the matter, who said the notification was conveyed through security channels but did not say when.
Israel last struck the Lebanese capital in January, killing a senior Palestinian leader of Hamas, the militant group that has been fighting in Gaza since an October 7 attack. The strike was precise, destroying offices inside the building but causing little other damage.
Tuesday’s attack was a step change and marked the biggest escalation of fighting between Israel and the powerful militant group since October 8.
An Israeli official said Tuesday that the army would “pursue any organization that harms our people,” but added that “Israel [escalate the situation into] It’s a regional war.”
“As long as the attacks stop and the terrorist threat to our people is eliminated, [both] “Israel and Lebanon,” the Israeli official said.
The officials also said Israel holds Lebanon responsible for “attacks carried out from its territory” and the Hezbollah group.
Until now, months of repeated tit-for-tat attacks between Israel and Hezbollah have been largely confined to areas near the Lebanese-Israeli border.
On Monday, Lebanon’s foreign minister told CNN that an Israeli attack on Beirut’s southern outskirts or the international airport “would definitely lead to war.” Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has repeatedly said his group would attack Tel Aviv if Israel attacked the Lebanese capital.
This story has been updated with additional information.
