The Israeli army said that its fighters killed in the Beirut area the highest-ranking military commander of "Hezbollah" and head of the strategic division of the Lebanese Shiite group Fouad Shukr, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Fouad was the right-hand man of the leader of the "Hezbollah" Hassan Nasrallah and his adviser on military operations, the statement said.
Earlier, Lebanese security sources told Reuters that Fouad Shukr was the target of yesterday's Israeli strike, but they said he was seriously wounded.
Lebanese Health Minister Firas Abiad said at least one person was killed and 35 wounded, three of them critically, in the attack, which took place around 7:40 p.m. local time (4:40 p.m. GMT condition.
The strike came three days after a rocket hit a soccer field in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, killing 12 children and youths. The Israeli army has indicated that the commander of "Hezbollah", against whom today's strike was directed, is responsible for this attack, as well as for other deadly strikes on civilian targets, DPA notes.
"Hezbollah” denied that it was involved in the attack on the soccer field, but indicated that it fired rockets at a military target located in the Golan Heights.
Earlier today, Israeli rescue services said at least one civilian was killed in a midday rocket attack on northern Israel, and air raid sirens were sounded in several towns near the border with Lebanon. According to the Israeli army, Northern Israel was attacked today with about 25 rockets fired from Lebanese territory.
After the attack on Beirut, the Israeli army said it had not distributed new civil defense instructions, a possible sign that no new operations against Lebanon are planned for now, Reuters commented.
TV "Channel 12" quoted an unnamed military official as saying that Israel does not want to fight an all-out war.
The US this evening called for a diplomatic solution to the conflict between Israel and Lebanon. "We don't think total war is inevitable... We think it can still be avoided," said White House spokeswoman Karin Jean-Pierre, quoted by DPA. She did not make a direct comment on the Israeli attack in Beirut, but stressed that President Joe Biden believes in a diplomatic solution to the situation.