Israel launches airstrike on Lebanese capital Beirut: there are dead and wounded
31 July 2024 00:16
VIDEO
The Israeli Defence Forces carried out an air strike on the Lebanese capital, Beirut. The target of the attack was a Hezbollah commander. This is reported by the Israeli edition of The Times of Israel, "Komersant Ukrainian" informs
Lebanese media began reporting on the evening of 30 July about the explosion in the Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut, where Hezbollah’s centre is located.
The IDF confirmed that it had carried out an air strike on Beirut to eliminate a Hezbollah commander who had launched a rocket attack on Majdal Shams.
According to the newspaper, this may be Fuad Shukr, also known as Haj Mohsin, a senior adviser to the Hezbollah leader. Several years ago, the IDF named him as the head of the group’s precision missile project. He is also wanted by the United States for the 1983 bombing of the US Marine barracks in Beirut.
An Israeli strike on a residential building in Beirut killed one person and wounded 68 others, including five in critical condition, Lebanon’s Health Ministry reports.
Photos and videos show that the building collapsed as a result of the attack. Lebanese rescue services are working at the scene.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Buhabib told Reuters that he hoped Hezbollah’s response to Israel’s air strike on Beirut would be “proportionate” to avoid escalation.
He also said that Lebanon would file a complaint with the UN Security Council.
Saudi Arabia-owned media quoted sources as saying that the head of the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah’s operations centre, Fouad Shukr, had been killed.
Shukr’s body is now in a hospital in Beirut, which is surrounded by a security cordon, Al Hadath reports.
According to a Reuters source, the commander’s fate remains unknown. At the same time, there is information about two dead, the Times of Israel quoted AFP interlocutors as saying.
Earlier, on 27 July, 12 children were killed in a rocket attack on the Golan Heights. Israel blamed the attack on Hezbollah.
The Lebanese government on Sunday asked the United States to call on Israel to exercise restraint. On the same day, the Israeli Security Cabinet authorised the government to respond to the attack. “Hezbollah denies any responsibility for the attack.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman warned Lebanon of the threat of a “devastating war” after the Hezbollah rocket attack on the Golan Heights.
