Israel says top Hezbollah commander killed in Beirut strike

Israel says elder Hezbollah figures, including a apical subject commander, were killed successful an aerial onslaught connected the Lebanese superior Beirut connected Friday, successful a large escalation that has added to fears of an all-out war.

At slightest 14 radical were killed and dozens injured, Lebanese officials said, successful the onslaught that deed the densely populated Dahieh area, a stronghold of the Iran-backed radical successful the city’s confederate suburbs.

There were chaotic scenes arsenic exigency teams rushed to the tract of the attack, rescuing the wounded and searching for radical believed to beryllium trapped nether the rubble. At slightest 1 residential gathering collapsed and others were heavy damaged.

Streets were closed by Hezbollah members, immoderate looking incredulous arsenic the onslaught represented different humiliating stroke successful a week which saw pagers and walkie-talkies belonging to the radical explode.

Dozens were killed and thousands wounded successful those attacks, wide believed to beryllium orchestrated by Israel.

Friday's onslaught was the archetypal to deed Beirut since July, erstwhile Hezbollah’s subject main Fuad Shukr was killed.

In a statement, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Ibrahim Aqil, a elder commandant successful Hezbollah’s elite Radwan forces, was killed alongside elder operatives successful the group’s operations unit and different Radwan commanders.

Hezbollah has not confirmed the deaths.

Hagari said the individuals killed were “planning Hezbollah’s 'Conquer the Galilee' onslaught plan, successful which Hezbollah intended to infiltrate Israeli communities and execution guiltless civilians".

The program was archetypal reported by the Israeli subject successful 2018, erstwhile the IDF said it was blocking tunnels dug by Hezbollah to penetrate Israeli territory and kidnap and execution civilians.

In April, Washington said it was searching for Aqil, besides known arsenic Tashin, and offered fiscal rewards to anyone with "information starring to his identification, location, apprehension and/or conviction".

He was wanted by the US owed to his links and seniority wrong Hezbollah, a radical that has been proscribed a violent organisation by Israel, the UK, US and different countries.

In the 1980s, Aqil was a subordinate of the radical that orchestrated the bombings of the US embassy successful Beirut and a marine barracks, sidesplitting hundreds of people.

Hezbollah was established successful the aboriginal 1980s by the region's astir ascendant Shia power, Iran, to reason Israel. At the time, Israel's forces had occupied confederate Lebanon during the country's civilian war.

Earlier connected Friday, Hezbollah said it had launched strikes connected subject sites successful bluish Israel. The IDF said 140 rockets were fired into the northbound of the country, portion Israeli constabulary issued warnings astir harm to roads.

It came aft Israel carried retired extended aerial strikes connected confederate Lebanon, saying its warplanes had deed much than 100 Hezbollah rocket launchers and different "terrorist sites" including a weapons retention facility.

The cross-border warring betwixt Israel and Hezbollah escalated connected 8 October 2023 - the time aft the unprecedented onslaught connected Israel by Hamas gunmen from Gaza - erstwhile Hezbollah fired astatine Israeli positions successful solidarity with the Palestinians.

Since past hundreds of people, astir of them Hezbollah fighters, person been killed successful the cross-border fighting, portion tens of thousands person besides been displaced connected some sides of the border.

Israel precocious added the instrumentality of radical displaced from the northbound of the state to its database of warfare goals, and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said connected Thursday that his state is entering a "new signifier of the war", concentrating much of its efforts connected the north.

After the pager and walkie-talkie explosions crossed Lebanon earlier this week, determination has been a deepened consciousness of unease successful the Middle Eastern country.

It was an unprecedented information breach that indicated however profoundly Israel had managed to penetrate the group’s connection system.

Many of the explosions occurred simultaneously, with walkie-talkie explosions connected Wednesday occurring successful the vicinity of a ample assemblage that had gathered for the funerals of 4 victims of Tuesday's pager blasts.

Hezbollah and Lebanese authorities person blamed Israel for the explosions.

Israeli officials person not commented connected the allegations, but astir analysts hold that it is down the attack.

In a televised code connected Thursday, Hezbollah person Hassan Nasrallah said: “The force crossed each rules, laws and reddish lines. It didn't attraction astir thing astatine all, not morally, not humanely, not legally."

Nasrallah vowed a harsh punishment, but indicated his radical was not funny successful an escalation of its existent struggle with Israel.

US and UK authorities person urged their citizens not to question to Lebanon. The White House said it was progressive successful aggravated diplomacy to forestall escalation of the struggle on the Israel-Lebanon border.

Reiterating erstwhile calls, the UK Foreign Office said it is "continuing to counsel radical to permission Lebanon present portion commercialized routes stay available".

The BBC understands that during a Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms (COBR) gathering officials discussed ongoing preparedness work, peculiarly with regards to British nationals, should determination beryllium immoderate further escalation.