Dead and dozens wounded in Israeli bombing targeting Beirut's southern suburb

A group of Lebanese, including children, were killed and injured in an Israeli bombardment that targeted a residential building on a crowded street in the southern suburb of Beirut.

The Lebanese Ministry of Health reported that “the toll so far is 8 martyrs and 59 wounded as a result of the Israeli aggression on a residential neighborhood in the southern suburb of Beirut.”

The Israeli army announced that it was launching raids on the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

The Israeli army spokesman said in a statement: “The beginning: “The Israeli army is targeting Beirut. At this stage, there is no change in the instructions of the Home Front Command.”

According to media outlets, “the Israeli raid took place near Al-Qaim Mosque, near the Al-Jamous area in the southern suburb of Beirut.”

Channel 12 reported that “a very senior official in Hezbollah was the target of the concentrated attack carried out by the Israeli army in the southern suburb of Beirut.”

Initially, information about the targeted person was conflicting. Israeli media reports said that the Israeli raid was an attempt to assassinate Hezbollah’s deputy secretary-general, Naim Qassem, but the Israeli army radio confirmed that the target of the raid was Ibrahim Aqil, Hezbollah’s special operations commander.

An Israeli source told the Ynet website after the assassination attempt on Ibrahim Aqil, head of Hezbollah’s operations department: “We are in a new phase of the war and we will continue to pursue Hezbollah. We are ready to respond, and everything is on the table.”