The Israeli military has carried out a retaliatory strike in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
A Hezbollah official said Tuesday’s strike hit Beirut’s southern suburb of Haret Hreik – the area around Hezbollah’s decision-making authority, the Shura Council.
One woman is believed to have died in the strike, the suburb’s Behman Hospital, confirmed to Sky News’ US partner network, NBC.
A further 17 people have been injured, including six children. Two of the injured are in a critical condition.
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What is Hezbollah?
The intended target of the strike is believed to have been a senior Hezbollah military commander, Sky News understands – his condition remains unknown.
Pic: AP
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) claimed the commander in the Iranian-backed group was “responsible for the murder of the children in Majdal Shams” – referring to the rocket attack on a football pitch in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that killed a dozen children and teenagers on Saturday.
Israel has blamed Hezbollah but the Lebanese militant group denied being responsible for the attack.
Israel’s defence minister Yoav Gallant later posted on social media platform X that “Hezbollah crossed the red line.”
Pic: Reuters
Speaking from the scene in Beirut, Sky News’ special correspondent Alex Crawford said the suburb is a densely populated Hezbollah stronghold.
She said there is a strong army presence in the area.
“There is a fair amount of fire and a fair number of other buildings that have been impacted,” Crawford said.
Response to the strike
Condemning the strike, Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the strike on Beirut was a “criminal act”.
The country’s foreign minister Abdallah Bou Habib added that the government planned to file a complaint to the United Nations.
He told Reuters he hoped any response by Hezbollah would not trigger an escalation.
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The White House added that it does not believe war between Hezbollah and Israel is inevitable – having driven a diplomatic response to try and prevent Israel from retaliating after the football pitch attack.
Meanwhile, Russia said the strike on Lebanon is a “flagrant violation of international law,” Russian news agency Tass reported.
Pic: AP
Iran also said it strongly condemned the strike, calling it “sinful and cowardly Israeli aggression”.
Hamas – the group responsible for the 7 October attack on Israel – also spoke out against the strike, saying it was a “dangerous escalation”.
Could this lead to further escalation?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed heavy retaliation against Hezbollah at the weekend.
And Tuesday’s strike will not help fears that broader escalation will break out in the region.
Within minutes of the strike on Beirut, a photo of Mr Netanyahu with his national security adviser and other officials was released by his office.
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“This is the tinderbox situation, which could explode into regional war,” Alex Crawford said from Beirut.
“No one is taking any guesses right now over whether that is going to be able to be contained.”
Speaking about Hezbollah’s denial over the Golan Heights attack, Crawford said it is “out of kilter” for the armed group to not take responsibility for an attack, even if it had made a mistake.
In an interview with Sky News earlier this week, Lebanon’s foreign minister Mr Bouhabib warned Israel against mounting widespread attacks on the country.
He said: “Most of the fighting is going to be with Hezbollah… but it will be supported by most Lebanese, not because we like war but because Israel is attacking Lebanon and we cannot accept it.”
