Senior Hezbollah commander reportedly killed in Israeli airstrike on Beirut

An Israeli airstrike targeted Beirut suburbs on Tuesday, killing a senior commander of the Iran-backed Hezbollah, Arab and Israeli media reported, raising fears that the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah could escalate into a larger regional war.

The Israeli military carried out the airstrike in retaliation for a rocket attack on a soccer field in the Golan Heights on Saturday that killed 12 minors. Israel and the United States blamed Hezbollah for the attack, but the Shiite group denied any responsibility.

Tuesday’s airstrike targeted Fuad Shukr, a senior military adviser to Hezbollah’s secretary general, according to Arab and Israeli media reports.

A source close to Hezbollah told AFP that two people were killed in the attack, which targeted a “senior commander” of the group. The source did not, however, clarify whether either of the two victims was Fuad Shukr.

Al-Arabiya and Al-Hadath as well as Israeli media report that Fuad Shukr was killed in the airstrike and his body was transferred to the Great Prophet’s Hospital in Beirut.

Al-Arabiya reported that Hezbollah had set up a security barrier around the hospital in Beirut’s Al-Dahiya district where Fuad’s body is being kept.

In a statement, the Israeli military said it had “carried out a targeted attack in Beirut against the commander responsible for the murder of the children in Majdal Shams and the killing of numerous other Israeli civilians.”

The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman strongly condemned the Israeli airstrike, calling it a “clear violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and a blatant violation of international rules and the UN Charter.”

The newly elected President of Iran had previously warned Israel of serious consequences if it attacks Lebanon.

Hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, largely sparked by the war in Gaza, are the worst since the 2006 conflict.

The clashes were largely limited to the border area. Both sides had previously stated that they did not want a major conflict. However, the situation has raised fears of a possible escalation into war.

Hezbollah, an ally of the Palestinian terror group Hamas, has said it will continue its rocket and drone attacks on Israel until Israel’s offensive on Gaza ends. The conflict on the Israeli-Lebanese border has forced tens of thousands of people on both sides to flee their homes.