Israel targets key Hezbollah official in first attack on Beirut in months
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# Israel targets key Hezbollah official in first attack on Beirut in months
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Hugo BachegaMiddle East correspondent , Beirut
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AFP via Getty Images
Israel has carried out an air strike on the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, for the first time in months, targeting a senior member of the militant group Hezbollah, despite a ceasefire.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the target was Hezbollah's chief of staff. Israeli media reports identified him as Ali Tabtai, describing him as the group's number two.
Lebanon's health ministry said at least five people had been killed and 28 others wounded in the strike, which hit an apartment building in the densely populated Dahieh district. It was not immediately clear if the person killed was Tabtai.
Hezbollah confirmed the strike targeted a senior commander but didn't disclose their identity.
The attack happens as Israel has escalated its campaign on people and targets it says are linked to Hezbollah - a Shia Muslim group supported by Iran - despite a ceasefire brokered by the US and France that came into effect last November.
Israeli officials say Hezbollah has been trying to rebuild its military capabilities, is smuggling weapons into Lebanon and stepping up the production of explosive drones as an alternative to rockets and missiles, and there are growing fears of an escalation of hostilities.
Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun has urged the international community to put pressure on Israel - which continues to occupy at least five locations in southern Lebanon - to stop the attacks and withdraw from the country, saying the Israeli actions are a violation of the agreement that put an end to 13 months of conflict.
The Lebanese government has vowed to disarm Hezbollah, but the group has rejected calls to discuss the future of its weapons before Israel stops its attacks, fully withdraws from Lebanon, and releases Lebanese prisoners.
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