Israel launches fresh attack on Beirut, kills Hezbollah leader

An Israeli airstrike on Beirut killed a senior Hezbollah commander on Tuesday as cross-border rocket attacks by both sides increased fears of a full-fledged war in the Middle East.

Israel's military said the airstrike on the Lebanese capital killed Ibrahim Qubaisi, who it said was the commander of Hezbollah's missiles and rocket force. Two security sources in Lebanon described him as a leading figure in the Iran-backed group's rocket division. The airstrike hit a building in the usually busy Ghobeiry neighbourhood. One of the security sources shared a photo showing damage to the top floor of the five-storey building.

Israel’s military chief said attacks on Hezbollah would be accelerated.

“The situation requires continued, intense action in all arenas,” said Military Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi after holding a security assessment.

Lebanese authorities said 558 people had been killed, including 50 children and 94 women, in Israel’s airstrikes on Monday. A further 1,835 were wounded, they said, and tens of thousands more have fled for safety.

The casualty tolls and constant pressure from the most powerful and advanced military in the Middle East has spread panic in Lebanon, which suffered from devastating destruction when Israel and Hezbollah fought in 2006.

“We are waiting for victory, God willing, because as long as we have a neighbour like Israel, we can’t sleep safely,” said Beirut resident Hassan Omar. Afif Ibrahim, a taxi deriver from southern Lebanon, was defiant. “They (Israel) want us (Lebanese) to kneel, but we kneel only to God in our prayers; we bow our heads to no one but God,” he said.

Hezbollah cannot stand alone against a country defended, supported and supplied by the West. We must not allow Lebanon to become another Gaza at the hands of Israel. — Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran President