Israel’s military took responsibility on Tuesday for a strike in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, saying it targeted a Hezbollah commander responsible for an attack on Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, as rocket fire between the Lebanon-based militant group and the Israel Defense Forces ramps up amid concerns of a broader regional conflict.
Security forces in the Dahieh area of Beirut respond to an Israeli airstrike.
The IDF said the attack in Beirut was directed at a commander “responsible for the murder of children in Majdal Shams” — a town in Golan Heights where Israel said Hezbollah killed at least 12 children in a recent rocket attack — and for “the killing of numerous additional Israeli civilians.”
The IDF did not specify which commander it had targeted, though multiple outlets reported the commander was senior Hezbollah official Fuad Shukr, citing Israeli officials speaking on the condition of anonymity.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said “Hezbollah crossed the red line.”
The strike comes three days after a rocket attack killed at least 12 people in a soccer field in Israel’s Golan Heights region—the IDF alleged Hezbollah launched an airstrike, though Hezbollah denied that claim, and IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari later argued Hezbollah’s denial was a “lie.”
Following that attack—which came hours after an Israeli strike hit a school in the Gaza Strip and killed at least 30 people—Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the Lebanon-based militant group would “pay a heavy price,” while Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz told Israel’s Channel 12 the IDF is “nearing the moment in which we face an all-out war.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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