An Israeli airstrike in Beirut killed a member of Hezbollah and Iran’s Quds Force on Tuesday, security officials said, raising fears that the cease-fire in Lebanon may fall through.
Hassan Bdeir, a Hezbollah and Quds Force official who allegedly helped Hamas plan an attack on Israel, was one of four people killed in the latest airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs, a local security official told Reuters.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar defended the strike in the Lebanese capital, describing Bdeir as a “real and immediate threat” while demanding Beirut keep a leash on the terror group.
“We expect Lebanon to take action to uproot terrorist organizations acting within its borders against Israel,” Saar said.
It’s unclear which attack Bdeir allegedly helped plan.
Hezbollah and Israel agreed to a temporary cease-fire last November after the Israeli military decimated the terror group’s forces and top leadership, including slain founder Hassan Nasrallah.
While the US-brokered cease-fire called for the war campaign to end and for Israel to withdraw behind a buffer zone, the IDF remains active in Lebanon, alleging that Hezbollah has not kept up with its end of the bargain of retreating far north into the country.
Israel launched another airstrike on Friday after officials said a rocket from Lebanon was fired toward the Jewish state.
Hezbollah lawmaker Ibrahim Moussawi claimed Israel’s latest attack was tantamount to “a major and severe aggression that has escalated the situation to an entirely different level.”
Tuesday’s strike appeared to have damaged the upper three floors of a building, according to a Reuters reporter at the scene. Unlike Friday’s strike in the capital, Israel did not provide any warning prior to the strike.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam also condemned the attack and undermined the cease-fire in the region at a time of heightened tension with Hamas in Gaza and the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The US Department of Defense stood by Israel, saying the airstrikes come as the Jewish state defends itself from “terrorists” based in Lebanon.
“Hostilities have resumed because terrorists launched rockets into Israel from Lebanon,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement.
With Post wires
