Beirut
CNN
—
Israel says it has launched a strike in Beirut, Lebanon, targeting a Hezbollah commander that it blamed for a deadly attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said “Hezbollah crossed the red line” in a social media post minutes after the Israeli military claimed responsibility for the strike on Tuesday.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had “carried out a targeted strike in Beirut, on the commander responsible for the murder of the children in Majdal Shams and the killing of numerous additional Israeli civilians.”
It did not provide details about how the strike was carried out.
Lebanese state news agency NNA said the attack was conducted by a drone that fired three missiles.
The IDF statement came shortly after Hezbollah-run Al Manar TV agency reported a loud explosion being heard in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital.
The area is a populous part of Beirut and a stronghold of the Iran-backed militant group.
Israel vowed earlier this week that Hezbollah would “pay the price” for a rocket attack on a soccer field that killed 12 children and injured 44 people in the town of Majdal Shams near the Syrian and Lebanese borders.
The attack Saturday sparked fears that an all-out war could envelop the region.
A spokesperson for the US State Department would not comment on whether Israel had warned the US it might strike Beirut in its retaliation against Hezbollah.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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