Ahmed Al-Kherdi/Reuters
People gather near the affected area of what security sources said was a strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut on July 30, 2024.
Beirut
CNN
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Israel says it is Began a strike in BeirutLebanon targets Hezbollah commander blamed for deadly attack in Israeli occupation Golan Heights.
“Hezbollah has crossed a red line,” Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a social media post minutes after the Israeli military claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s attack.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had “targeted a commander in Beirut responsible for the killing of children in Majdal Shams and the killing of numerous additional Israeli civilians.”
Details of how the strike was conducted were not disclosed.
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Lebanese state news agency NNA said the attack was carried out by a drone that fired three missiles.
The IDF statement came shortly after Hezbollah-run Al Manar TV reported that a large explosion was heard in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital.
The area is a populous part of Beirut and a stronghold of pro-Iranian militias.
Israel vowed earlier this week that Hezbollah would “pay the price” for a rocket attack on a soccer field in the town of Majdal Shams, near the Syrian and Lebanese borders, that killed 12 children and injured 44 others.
Saturday’s attack fueled fears that an all-out war could engulf the region.
A spokesman for the US State Department did not comment on whether Israel had warned the US that it might strike Beirut in retaliation against Hezbollah.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
