The IDF conducted a targeted strike in Beirut, the military announced on Friday afternoon. Israeli media reports named the primary target of the strike as Radwan Force commander and head of Hezbollah Operations, Ibrahim Aqil.
Reuters reported that a thick cloud of smoke was seen climbing over the Lebanese capital, adding that residents of the city’s southern suburbs reported hearing a blast.
According to unconfirmed reports, the strike hit a meeting between Palestinian and Hezbollah officials.
The IDF noted that the Home Front Command’s defensive guidelines for Israeli residents are currently unchanged.
צה”ל תקף באופן ממוקד בביירות – בלבנון מדווחים: התקיפה כוונה לבניין מגורים | תיעוד מהדאחיהhttps://t.co/2NMHeVtQ3O | @ndvori pic.twitter.com/ufxfhYex4k
— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) September 20, 2024
“We are in a new phase of the war and continue to pursue Hezbollah,” an Israeli official told Ynet after the strike. “We are preparing for a response. Everything is on the table.”
The Hezbollah-owned Al-Manar claimed that more than one strike targeted an area in southern Beirut.
Lebanese media placed the site of the strike, or strikes, at the Al-Qaim neighborhood of Beirut.
The strike follows massive Hezbollah rocket attacks on northern Israel overnight on Thursday and Friday.
Throughout the rocket attacks fired by the Iranian Lebanese proxy, some 50 homes in the Israeli border community of Metulla were reportedly damaged.
Additionally, rocket falls and shrapnel sparked fires across several locations in the North.
This is a developing story.
