Israel is threatening the Middle East cease-fire momentum with a sudden airstrike on the southern suburbs of Beirut, the Lebanese capital.
According to the Washington Post (WP) on the 6th (local time), the Israel Defense Forces said it struck southern Beirut that day, targeting the commander of Hezbollah's elite Radwan Unit. This is the first time Israel has directly attacked near Beirut since the cease-fire brokered by the United States last month.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that "no terrorist can escape responsibility," asserting the legitimacy of the airstrike.
There is growing concern that the Middle East situation, entangling the United States and Iran, could be shaken again by this attack. In particular, as Israel raises the level of military pressure aimed at Hezbollah, some noted the cease-fire phase could collapse by provoking hard-liners in Iran.
The southern Beirut area hit by the airstrike is known to be densely packed with key Hezbollah facilities. According to photos from the scene, the target was a 10-story building near a school. Hezbollah said there appeared to be fatalities, but the exact scale of the damage and the identities of those hit were not immediately confirmed.
The Israel Defense Forces also claimed last year that it carried out concentrated bombardments in the same area and eliminated Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Radwan Unit commander Haitham Ali Tabatabai. The Radwan Unit, created in 2006, is Hezbollah's core elite force that takes on full-scale warfare in clashes with Israel.
Armed clashes between Israel and Hezbollah intensified in March as missile and drone attacks on Israel began in retaliation for the assassination of Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei. Since then, at least 2,700 people have been killed, according to Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health, and 20 have died in Israel, including soldiers and civilians.