The IDF said that Aqil and the other targets of the strike were “hiding among Lebanese civilians, using them as human shields.”
Lebanese health officials said on Saturday that the death toll had risen to at least 31, with dozens more injured, in the strike that hit a densely populated suburb of Beirut. The Lebanese health ministry said the fatalities included three children.
The Israeli airstrike came shortly after Hezbollah launched 140 rockets at northern Israel.
Friday’s attack was the latest escalation in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah militants, with fears growing of a wider war in the region. This week had already seen the explosion of pagers and other communications devices used by Hezbollah members and numerous Israeli air strikes over Lebanon.
A senior United Nations official warned on Friday that the hostilities in the Middle East are in danger of spiraling to unprecedented levels.
“We risk seeing a conflagration that could dwarf even the devastation and suffering witnessed so far,” U.N. political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo told the Security Council. “I also strongly urge member states with influence over the parties to leverage it now.”
American and British authorities have urged their citizens not to travel to Lebanon. The White House said it was involved in intense diplomacy to prevent escalation of the conflict along the Israel-Lebanon border.
