Israeli attack on Beirut kills 3, army says Hezbollah chief was target

Israel on Tuesday carried out a rare strike on Beirut, which it said killed the Hezbollah commander who was allegedly behind a weekend rocket attack that killed 12 young people in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Hezbollah did not immediately confirm the commander’s death.

The Israeli strike killed a woman and two children and wounded dozens of other people in escalating hostilities with the Lebanese militant group.

Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, Israeli military spokesperson, said the target was Fouad Shukur, a top Hezbollah military commander whom the U.S. blames for planning and launching the deadly 1983 Marine bombing in the Lebanese capital.

It was not immediately clear if Shukur was hit.

Though Hezbollah issued a rare denial of involvement in the rocket attack Saturday in the town of Majdal Shams, Israel is holding the militant group responsible.

The two sides have exchanged near-daily strikes for the past 10 months against the backdrop of the war in Gaza, but they have previously kept the conflict at a low level that was unlikely to escalate into full-on war.

“Hezbollah's ongoing aggression and brutal attacks are dragging the people of Lebanon and the entire Middle East into a wider escalation," Hagari said.

"While we prefer to resolve hostilities without a wider war, the IDF is fully prepared for any scenario."