BEIRUT: A source close to Hezbollah said an Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs on Monday targeted the group’s commander for south Lebanon, where the movement has clashed with Israel for nearly a year.
It was the third Israeli strike targeting Hezbollah’s top brass in the group’s southern Beirut bastion in recent weeks, after a strike on Friday killed Ibrahim Aqil, who headed the group’s elite Radwan Force, and a July attack killed senior commander Fuad Shukr.
“The target of the Israeli strike was Ali Karake, the current commander of the southern front and the third-in-command after” Aqil and Shukr were killed, said the source requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
Lebanon says Israeli airstrikes kill at least 274, citizens told to evacuate
It was unclear whether Karake had been killed, the source said.
Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television channel was broadcasting live from near the scene of the strike, while an AFP correspondent said the area had been cordoned off.
Al-Manar said a missile exploded inside the underground shelter of a building, adding residents reported that they did not hear any loud explosion when the strike hit.
Comments