Israeli air strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs on Tuesday killed a Hezbollah commander and a key figure in its rocket division, two security sources in Lebanon said, raising fears of a full-blown war in the Middle East.
Sources identified the slain commander as Ibrahim Kubaisi. Six people were killed in the attack, dealing another blow to the Iran-backed group, which has suffered several setbacks at the hands of Israel over the past week.
The continued pressure on Hezbollah has raised fears that the nearly year-long conflict will spiral into a wider war and destabilise the Middle East, where a conflict is already raging between Israel and Hezbollah’s ally Hamas in Gaza.
Israel attacked a Hezbollah-controlled area of the Lebanese capital for the second consecutive day after launching a new wave of air strikes on targets in Lebanon.
After nearly 12 months of war against the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza on its southern border, Israel is focusing its attention on the northern border, where Hezbollah is firing rockets at Israel in support of Hamas, which is also backed by Iran.
The health ministry gave a preliminary toll of six dead and 15 injured in the Beirut attack.
The Israeli military launched air strikes against Hezbollah on Monday, killing more than 500 people, Lebanese officials said.
The airstrike hit a building in Beirut’s usually busy Ghoberi area. One of the security sources shared a photo showing damage to the top floor of the five-story building.
The Israeli military chief had earlier said that attacks against Hezbollah would be intensified.
“The situation requires sustained, intensive action in all areas,” army Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi said after the security assessment.
Lebanese officials said 558 people were killed in Israeli air strikes on Monday, including 50 children and 94 women. They said 1,835 people were injured and thousands fled to safety.
The attack and the casualties by the Middle East’s most powerful and advanced army have sparked panic in Lebanon, which suffered devastating destruction during fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006.
“We are waiting for victory, God willing, because as long as we have a neighbor like Israel, we cannot sleep safely,” said Beirut resident Hassan Omar.
Afif Ibrahim, a taxi driver from southern Lebanon, took a rebellious stance.
He said, “They (Israelis) want us (Lebanese) to kneel, but we only kneel before God in our prayers; we do not bow our heads before anyone else except God.”
The growing demand for diplomacy
Calls for diplomacy are growing as the conflict worsens, with UN human rights chief Volker Turk urging all states and influential parties to prevent further escalation of the conflict in Lebanon.
“I believe we can still find a way forward to reduce tensions between Israel and Lebanon along the northern border with Israel and Lebanon and bring about a diplomatic solution that allows people to return to their homes,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told MSNBC.
The fighting has raised fears that Israel’s close ally the United States and regional power Iran, which has proxy groups in the Middle East such as Hezbollah, Yemen’s Houthis and armed groups in Iraq, would be drawn into a wider war.
Hezbollah suffered heavy losses last week when thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by its members were exploded, the worst security breach in its history.
The operation was widely attributed to Israel, which has a long history of carrying out sophisticated attacks on foreign soil. It has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility.
Israel’s intelligence and technical capabilities have given it a strong edge in both Lebanon and Gaza. It has tracked down and killed top Hezbollah commanders and Hamas leaders.
But Hezbollah has proven its resilience during decades of hostilities with Israel and has defied superior firepower.
The group, which was founded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards to counter Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in 1982, is an even more dangerous enemy than Hamas.
Hezbollah announced in a message posted on Telegram on Tuesday that it used a new rocket, the Fadi 3, in the attack on an Israeli military base.
Israel is dropping leaflets with a “very dangerous” barcode in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley, its media office said on Tuesday, warning that “all information will be deleted” from any device if it is scanned with a phone.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Hezbollah’s media office did not say whether there was anything else written on the leaflets.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)