Khaberni - A Lebanese security source reported this evening the killing of Hezbollah's military commander Haitham al-Tabtabai in an Israeli raid on the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut.
According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, today, Sunday evening, 5 Lebanese were killed and more than 20 others were injured in an Israeli raid targeting the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut.
Earlier, local Lebanese reports stated that the Israeli army targeted a residential apartment on Broad Street in the southern suburb of Beirut in the area of the suburb's parking lot, causing extensive damage to the building and its surroundings.
Israeli reports mentioned that the raid targeted the prominent Hezbollah leader, Abu Ali al-Tabtabai, whose martyrdom has not yet been confirmed by Hezbollah, while the Lebanese Ministry of Health reported that the attack resulted in martyrs and injured amid intensive deployment of ambulance crews.
Mahmoud Qamati, Deputy Head of Hezbollah's Political Council, said, "The enemy targeted a jihadist figure in Beirut, and we will announce the name later, and there is no choice but to adhere to the resistance, and it is not possible to accept the continuation of this Israeli impunity, nor do we comment on what the enemy says regarding the response, and the resistance leadership is studying the matter and will make a decision."
He added: We coordinate with the Lebanese state to put an end to this Israeli impunity and this aggression today on the suburb breaches a new red line and a green light from America for escalation.
An Israeli security official said that the head of the occupation government and the minister of the occupation army approved the attack minutes before it was carried out.
The government of occupation stated in a statement that the Israeli army executed about an hour ago an attack "in the heart of Beirut" targeting the leader described by "Israel" as the chief of staff of Hezbollah and responsible for leading the path of rebuilding strength and arming in the party.
Israeli reports described Abu Ali al-Tabtabai as "the second man in Hezbollah after the Secretary-General, Naim Qasim" and the actual chief of staff of Hezbollah and one of the most prominent military officials in the party in recent years.
The raid coincided with intensive Israeli aircraft flying in Lebanese airspace and fake raids in the Bekaa region. While the Lebanese agency reported that an Israeli drone returned to fly over the targeted building in the Haret Hreik area of the southern suburb.
Hebrew reports confirmed that the occupation informed Washington in advance of the attack, without going into the level of American approval; while a senior American official said the United States had not received any prior notice regarding the attack, adding that "Washington was informed immediately after the operation was executed only."
The American official added that Washington had been aware, for several days, that Israel was preparing to escalate its attacks in Lebanon, but it had not been informed in advance of the timing of the strike or the identity of the target, as reported by Channel 12 Hebrew.
In southern Lebanon, an Israeli drone targeted a shepherd, a Syrian national, at the outskirts of the town of Rmeish in the Bint Jbeil district, according to the Lebanese official news agency.
A Lebanese citizen was martyred this afternoon from an attack carried out by an Israeli drone while he was working on repairing a house in the town of Aita al-Shaab in the Bint Jbeil district, according to local sources and the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
The National News Agency reported that the victim was the liberated prisoner Mohammed Saleh, noting that he was driving his car in the Rajem neighborhood heading to fetch equipment he uses in house repair, when the drone targeted him with a guided missile.
The agency added that the raid occurred simultaneously with low flying of an Israeli drone over the city of Hermel.
In the town of Adaisseh, an Israeli drone dropped a sound bomb, causing panic among the residents, without recording any injuries.
The skies over the villages and towns east of Tyre also witnessed intensive flying of Israeli drones, extending even to the southern towns in the western sector, amidst fears of an expansion of targeting.
On Thursday, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) recorded more than 10,000 air and ground violations inside Lebanese territory since the beginning of the agreement.
