The Albany Gazette - Hezbollah official among four dead in Israeli strike on Beirut

Lebanon's leaders condemned the attack, which came without warning at around 3:30 am (0030 GMT) during the Eid al-Fitr Muslim holiday marking the end of the Ramadan fasting period.

It struck after Israel on Friday raided Beirut's southern suburbs -- a stronghold of Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah armed group -- after issuing an evacuation warning.

Lebanon's health ministry said four people, including a woman, were killed in the latest strike.

The top two floors of a multi-storey building were destroyed, an AFP journalist said.

Ismael Noureddine, who lives in the building opposite, said his family was screaming.

"We couldn't see each other because of all the dust," he told AFP, describing "a very big explosion", followed by another.

A source close to Hezbollah, requesting anonymity as they were not authorised to brief the media, told AFP the strike killed Hassan Bdair, Hezbollah's "deputy head for the Palestinian file" who was "at home with his family".

Israel's military confirmed it killed Bdair in a joint statement with the Shin Bet domestic security agency.

The statement said Bdair "recently operated in cooperation with the Hamas terrorist organisation, directed Hamas terrorists, and assisted them in planning and advancing a significant and imminent terror attack against Israeli civilians".

It did not elaborate.

- 'Clear breach' -

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the strike and called on his country's allies to support "our right to full sovereignty".

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the attack was a "clear breach" of a ceasefire deal that largely ended more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.

Hezbollah lawmaker Ibrahim Musawi said Lebanese authorities must take high-level measures "to guarantee the safety of the Lebanese".

The raid came just days after Israel struck Beirut's southern suburbs in response to unclaimed rocket fire from Lebanon which it blamed on the Lebanese militant group.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had warned the country's military would "strike everywhere in Lebanon against any threat" in response.

Jamal Badreddine, 67, said Tuesday's strike hit about 30 metres (100 feet) from his home.

"Not just one person is targeted -- everyone in the country, from young to old has become the target," he said.

Israel has continued to carry out strikes on southern and eastern Lebanon since the November 27 ceasefire, hitting what it says are Hezbollah military targets that violated the agreement.

Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel on October 8, 2023 in support of its ally Hamas following the Palestinian group's unprecedented attack on southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.

After nearly a year of cross-border hostilities, Israel dramatically scaled up its campaign in September, heavily bombing Hezbollah strongholds in south and east Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs, and later sending in ground troops.

- 'Enforce' truce -

UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said "further escalation is the last thing anyone needs".

In a post on X, she said the "only viable route forward" was UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended a 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah and served as the foundation of the November truce.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem on Saturday condemned the resumption of Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, saying: "We cannot allow this to continue."

Israel's military said Friday two "projectiles" were fired from Lebanon towards Israel, the second such launch since the ceasefire, after an earlier incident on March 22.

Hezbollah denied involvement on both occasions.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has said Lebanon's "government bears direct responsibility" for any such fire and if it does not enforce the ceasefire, "we will enforce it".

Lebanon's military later Friday said it had identified the site of the rocket launch, just north of the Litani River.

On Sunday Lebanon's General Security agency said it had arrested several suspects.

Under the terms of the ceasefire, Israel was due to complete its withdrawal from Lebanon by February 18 after missing a January deadline, but it has kept troops in five places it deems "strategic".

The agreement also required Hezbollah to pull its forces north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the Israeli border, and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.

The Lebanese army has deployed in the south as the Israeli military pulled back.

(T.Martin--TAG)