Key Points
- Sources identified the slain commander as Ibrahim Qubaisi.
- The attack, which killed six people, was a new blow to the Iran-backed group.
- As the conflict worsens, calls for diplomacy are growing louder.
An Israeli airstrike on Beirut on Tuesday killed a top Hezbollah commander, as cross-border missile attacks by both sides heighten fears of an all-out war in the Middle East.
The Israeli military said the airstrike on the Lebanese capital killed Ibrahim Qubaisi, who it said was the commander of Hezbollah’s rocket and missile force. Two security sources in Lebanon described him as a leading figure in the Iranian-backed group’s missile division.
The continued pressure on Hezbollah has raised fears that the nearly year-long conflict could escalate into a new all-out war and destabilize the Middle East. A conflict is already raging in Gaza between Israel and Hezbollah’s ally Hamas.
Israel has attacked Hezbollah-controlled territory in the Lebanese capital for the second day in a row, after carrying out a new wave of airstrikes on targets in Lebanon.
After nearly 12 months of war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza on its southern border, Israel is shifting its focus to its northern border, where Hezbollah is firing rockets into Israel in support of Hamas, which is also backed by Iran.
The Health Ministry reported a preliminary death toll of six and 15 wounded in the attack in Beirut.
Six people were killed and 15 wounded in the Israeli attack on the 4th and 5th floors of a building in the Ghobeiry neighborhood. Source: Getty / Houssam Shbaro
The Israeli military launched airstrikes on Hezbollah on Monday, killing more than 500 people, according to Lebanese authorities. The airstrike hit a building in Beirut’s usually bustling Ghobeiry neighborhood. One of the security sources shared a photo showing damage to the top floor of a five-story building.
Israel’s military leader had previously said that attacks on Hezbollah would be accelerated.
“The situation requires continued, intensive action in all areas,” military chief of staff Herzi Halevi said after conducting a security assessment.
Lebanese authorities said 558 people, including 50 children and 94 women, were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Monday. Another 1,835 were wounded, they said, and tens of thousands more fled for safety.
The number of casualties and the attack by the most powerful and advanced army in the Middle East have spread panic in Lebanon, which suffered devastating events when Israel and Hezbollah fought in 2006.
“We are waiting for victory, God willing, because as long as we have a neighbor like Israel, we cannot sleep safely,” said Beirut resident Hassan Omar.
Afif Ibrahim, a taxi driver from southern Lebanon, responded defiantly.
“They (Israel) want us (the Lebanese) to kneel, but we only kneel before God in our prayers; we bow our heads to no one but God,” he said.
As the conflict worsens, calls for diplomacy are growing louder, with UN human rights chief Volker Turk calling on all states and influential actors to prevent further escalation in Lebanon.
“I believe we can still find a way to de-escalate between Israel and across the northern border between Israel and Lebanon, and find a diplomatic solution that allows people to return home,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told MSNBC.
The fighting has fueled fears that the United States, Israel’s staunch ally, and regional power Iran, which has allies in the Middle East — Hezbollah, the Houthis in Yemen and armed groups in Iraq — could be sucked into a broader war.
Hezbollah suffered heavy losses last week when in the worst security breach in its history.
The operation was widely blamed on Israel, which has a long history of sophisticated attacks on foreign soil. It has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility.
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