Israeli military says it killed Hezbollah commander in Beirut airstrike in response to Golan Heights attack

An Israeli airstrike targeted a senior Hezbollah commander inBeirut's southern suburbs late on Tuesday, in what the Israeli military said was retaliation for a cross-border rocket attack three days before that killed 12 children.

A loud blast was heard and a plume of smoke could be seen rising above the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital a stronghold of the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah at about7:40 p.m. local time, a Reuters witness said.

The Israeli military said late on Tuesday that Israeli air force fighter jets have killed Hezbollah's most senior military commander and head of its strategic unit, Fuad Shukr, also known as "Sayyid Muhsan."

Shukr served as the right-hand man to Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah and was his adviser for wartime operations, the statement said.

"Fuad Shukr has directed Hezbollah's attacks on Israel since Oct.8," the statement added, saying he was responsible for the deaths of 12 children in Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights a charge Hezbollah denies.

The U.S. blames Shukr for planning and launching the deadly 1983 Marine bombing in the Lebanese capital, according to The Associated Press.

Two security sources had earlier told Reuters that the Israeli strike had targeted but failed to kill Hezbollah's operations chief.

Lebanon's state-run national news agency said an Israeli airstrike had targeted the area around Hezbollah's Shura Council, in the capital's Haret Hreik neighbourhood of the capital.

The strike hit an apartment building next to a hospital, collapsing half of the targeted building. The hospital sustained minor damage, while the surrounding streets were littered with debris and broken glass. Paramedics could be seen carrying several injured people out of the damaged buildings.

A forklift was in the middle of the street, reaching to the top floors of the destroyed building, while utility crews removed fallen power lines. Crowds gathered to inspect the damageand check on their families. Some of them chanted in support of Hezbollah.

A resident of the suburb whose home is about 200 metresaway said that dust from the explosion "covered everything" and that the glass in his son's apartment was broken.

"Then people went down on the streets," he said. "Everyone has family. They went to check on them. It was a lot of destruction." He spoke on condition of anonymity out of concerns about his security.

WATCH | Mayhem inBeirut:

Mayhem erupts after explosion rocks Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut suburb

1 month ago

Duration 3:02

Israel's military is confirming it carried out a strike targeting one of Hezbollah's commanders they say was responsible for a rocket blast in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights this weekend that killed 12 children. While Hezbollah has denied responsibility, reporter Irris Makler breaks down what's at stake.

Hezbollah denies involvement in Golan Heights attack

Lebanese Foreign Affairs Minister AbdallahBou Habib said his government condemned theIsraeli strike andplanned to file a complaint withthe United Nations. He told Reuters he hoped any response by Lebanese armedgroup Hezbollah, whose heartland is in those southern suburbs,would not trigger an escalation.

Beiruthas been on edge for days ahead of an anticipated Israeli attack in reprisal for the rocket strike on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday thatkilled the 12 childrenin a football field in aDruze village.

Hezbollahhas denied involvement in that attack.

In a statement, the Israeli military said it had conducted "a targeted strike inBeiruton the commander responsible for the murder of the children in Majdal Shams and the killing of numerous additional Israeli civilians." Details would follow.

Earlier on Tuesday, more rocket fire from south Lebanon killed a civilian in a kibbutz in northern Israel, medics said.

Shortly before the explosion in southBeirut,the Israeli military said 15 projectiles had been fired across the Lebanese border within the past few hours, with impacts in parts of the Upper Galilee region. No injuries were reported.

Israel's air force had just hit a Hezbollah observation post and "terror infrastructure" in south Lebanon, it said.

WATCH | Lebanon braces for retaliatory attack:

Lebanon braces for retaliatory Israeli attacks after rocket strike in Golan Heights kills 12

1 month ago

Duration 2:03

After a rocket strike on Saturday at a soccer field killed 12 children and teens, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Hezbollah 'will pay a heavy price for this attack, one that it has not paid so far.'

Canadians advised to avoid travel to Lebanon

As diplomats sought to contain the fallout, U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said he did not believe a fight was inevitable between Hezbollah and Israel, although he remained concerned about the potential for escalation.

Hezbollah and Israel, which last fought each other in a major war in 2006, have been trading fire since the eruption of the Gaza war in October,after Hezbollah began firing at Israeli targetsin what it says is solidarity with Palestinians.

Global Affairs Canada (GAC) is advisingCanadians to avoid all travel to Lebanon as the security situation deteriorates.

"Canadians in Lebanon should leave now by commercial means if they can do so safely," a GAC statement says.

"Canada is not currently offering assisted departures or evacuations for Canadians in Lebanon,and there is never a guarantee the Canadian government will evacuate Canadians in a crisis situation."

The hostilities have mostly been limited to the frontier region in Lebanon, and both sides have previously indicated they do not seek a wider confrontation even as the conflict has prompted worry about the risk of a slide towardwar.

In the latest exchanges of fire on Tuesday, the Israeli military said 10 rockets had been fired from Lebanon and one hit Kibbutz Hagoshrim, causing one casualty. Israel's ambulance service said the 30-year-old male died of shrapnel wounds.

Israel said it hit some 10 Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon overnight and killed one Hezbollah fighter. Hezbollah confirmed one of its fighters was killed.