Israel carried out an airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs on Tuesday evening, targeting a senior Hezbollah commander blamed for a rocket attack that killed 12 children at the weekend, an Israeli military spokesperson said.
A loud blast was heard in the Lebanese capital shortly before 8pm local time, and smoke could be seen rising from the area that was hit, a stronghold for the militant group.
“The IDF 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,” the Israeli military said.
The city had been bracing for an attack in retaliation for a weekend rocket attack on the occupied Golan Heights that killed 12 children as they played football. Israel and the US have blamed Hezbollah for the attack. Hezbollah has denied responsibility.
The US has been leading a global diplomatic effort to deter Israel from hitting Beirut or Lebanese infrastructure, in an attempt to prevent escalation into full-blown conflict.
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has vowed a “harsh” response, and a rocket attack that killed a civilian in northern Israel on Tuesday is likely to have added to political pressure inside Israel for a strong strike against Hezbollah.
Countries including the UK, Germany, France and America had urged citizens to leave Lebanon or avoid travelling there. The British foreign secretary, David Lammy, said on Tuesday morning that events were “fast-moving” and that British nationals were advised “to leave Lebanon and not to travel to the country”.
Many airlines have cancelled flights to Beirut. Greece’s Aegean Airlines and Germany’s Condor were the latest to suspend services, joining others including Royal Jordanian, Air France and Lufthansa.
Lloyd Austin, the US defence secretary, said on Tuesday he did not believe full blown war was inevitable. US diplomats have been urging restraint from both parties, sending their messages to Hezbollah through intermediaries, including Lebanon’s foreign minister.
“While we’ve seen a lot of activity on Israel’s northern border, we remain concerned about the potential of this escalating into a full-blown fight. And I don’t believe that a fight is inevitable,” Austin said. “We’d like to see things resolved in a diplomatic fashion.”
Austin was speaking at a joint press conference in Manila after attending security talks along with the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, and their Philippine counterparts.