Hezbollah commander killed in Israeli strike on Beirut suburb, source tells AFP

Israel carried out an airstrike Wednesday evening on the southern suburb of Beirut for the first time in nearly a month, killing a high-ranking Hezbollah commander, a source close to the pro-Iranian group told AFP.

This strike is the first since “Black Wednesday,” on April 8, when Israeli warplanes launched massive and deadly bombardments across Lebanon within minutes, including several on Beirut and its southern suburb. Several countries, including the United States, subsequently pressured Tel Aviv to stop targeting the Lebanese capital.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the army struck “the commander of the al-Radwan force,” Hezbollah’s elite unit, in Beirut “with the goal of neutralizing him,” according to a joint statement with the defense minister. “Malek Ballout, commander of operations for the al-Radwan force,” was killed, a source close to Hezbollah told AFP.

The state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported that “Israeli warplanes targeted the Ghobeiri neighborhood” in the southern suburb, a Hezbollah stronghold. Smoke rose from the targeted neighborhood, according to AFP journalists.

The strike came as U.S. President Donald Trump said he saw “good chances” for a peace deal with Iran.

Beirut had not been targeted since April 8, when Israeli warplanes carried out massive strikes on Lebanon, killing more than 350 people.

A truce came into effect April 17 between Hezbollah and Israel, but Israel has continued its strikes in the south and east of the country.

According to Lebanon’s Health Ministry, Israeli strikes have killed at least 2,702 people and wounded 8,311 since March 2, when war resumed between Israel and Hezbollah after more than a year of cease-fire, during which time Israel bombed Lebanon almost daily and Hezbollah refused to hand over its weapons to the Lebanese Army.