UPDATE - Israel launches airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburb amid escalation with Hezbollah

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By Anadolu staff

BEIRUT (AA) - A loud explosion was heard in a southern Beirut suburb Tuesday after an Israeli airstrike amid rising tensions between Hezbollah and Israel, according to Lebanese media.

The strike was reported in the vicinity of Hezbollah Shura Council headquarters in Haret Hreik, state-run National News Agency reported.

It said the attack was carried out by an Israeli drone, which fired three missiles into a building, destroying two floors.

The agency reported a woman was killed and several others critically injured in the attack.

The Israeli army confirmed the strike, claiming that it targeted a Hezbollah commander responsible for Saturday’s missile attack that killed 12 people in the town of Druze in Majdal Shams in Israel-occupied Golan Heights.

While Israel blamed Hezbollah for Saturday’s attack, the Lebanese group denied any responsibility.

There was no comment from Hezbollah on the Israeli attack.

Israel’s Channel 13, meanwhile, reported that there was no confirmation on the success of the assassination operation.

The target of the attack was Fuad Shukr who is in charge of Hezbollah's military operations, according to the Axios news website, citing an unnamed Israeli official.

The Israeli Broadcasting Authority, KAN, said there is still no confirmation that the elimination of Hezbollah's number two was successful in the attack, citing unnamed official Israeli resources.

In a related development, Israeli Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs has instructed government ministers not to comment on the operation in the Lebanese capital until an official statement is released by the military.

The directive comes from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, KAN reported.

Following the attack on Beirut, Netanyahu arrived at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv and is set to conduct a security assessment later Tuesday with top security officials following the attack, according to the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.

Channel 12 also said the airstrike in southern Beirut targeted a key figure, identified as the leader of Hezbollah’s precision missile program.

An unnamed senior official was quoted as saying: “Whether war breaks out with Lebanon depends on Hezbollah. We have no intention of starting a regional war.”

Similarly, Channel 13 reported that an unnamed high-ranking Israeli official said: “If Hezbollah does not respond to the attack on southern Beirut, we will not escalate to war.”

Furthermore, Israeli Army Radio reported that the military instructed residents in towns near the Lebanese border to remain in shelters in anticipation of a potential Hezbollah retaliation.

Following the army's statement on the airstrike in southern Beirut, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant posted on X, “Hezbollah crossed the red line.”

Fears have grown about a full-blown war between Israel and Hezbollah amid an exchange of cross-border attacks between the two sides.

The escalation comes against the backdrop of a deadly Israeli onslaught on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 39,300 victims since October, following an attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul