Israel bombs Beirut, eliminates senior Hezbollah commander

The Israel Defense Forces conducted an airstrike against Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, in which they eliminated a military commander of the Hezbollah terrorist group.

The strike targeted Beirut's southern suburb of Dahieh. According to the IDF, the main target was Ibrahim Aqil, who held until now an important command in the armed structure of the Shiite group. According to military sources, Aqil was killed in the attack.

A number of other members of Hezbollah's armed wing belonging to the Radwan groups, special forces units of the terrorist group, were also killed along with Aqil:

According to Lebanese reports, an Israeli F-35 fighter jet flew over the area before launching at least two projectiles. The authorities in Beirut later announced the death of at least eight people. They were joined by several dozen wounded in the same attack.

Shortly after this Israeli air attack, the Shiite group launched about 20 rockets against northern Israel from southern Lebanon, which are added to various other launches that have occurred throughout Friday.

Hezbollah announced that it launched Katyusha rockets at "the main intelligence headquarters in the northern region [of Israel], responsible for assassinations ... in response to attacks by the Israeli enemy" in southern Lebanon. Artillery duels on the border between the two countries have intensified since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza more than 11 months ago.

Following the start of Israel's ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, the Netanyahu government chose to evacuate some 70,000 civilians from the most vulnerable areas near the border with Lebanon.

Israel's attack comes after two major strikes against the Hezbollah group this week. On Tuesday, hundreds of pagers used by Hezbollah members exploded, leaving more than 3,000 injured and several dozen dead. The following day, the group's walkie talkies also exploded in the Lebanese capital.

Tension between Israel and Hezbollah is on the rise. On Friday, the State Department reiterated its warnings to U.S. citizens not to travel to Lebanon for fear that fighting between the Shiite group and Israel could escalate further.

White House Homeland Security spokesman John Kirby said the Biden-Harris administration continues to believe that "there is time and space for a diplomatic solution" to the clashes between Israel and the terrorist group Hezbollah. "We think that that is the best way forward," he says.

Meanwhile, Israeli Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi met with military commanders in the northern zone, according to Jewish state forces. Some international correspondents reported throughout this week a significant movement of Israeli troops toward the northern border.