Israel attacks Lebanon’s capital, says top Hezbollah official ‘eliminated’

The Israeli military has launched an attack on the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut, killing at least five people and wounding 28 others, Lebanon’s health ministry says, calling it a “final toll”.

In a statement shortly on Sunday, the Israeli military said it “eliminated” Hezbollah’s chief of staff Haytham Ali Tabatabai in the strike on an apartment block in the Hezbollah stronghold of Dahiyeh.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office earlier said Tabatabai was the target of the attack. Israeli media said it was the military’s third attempt to kill him since last year’s war.

Hezbollah has yet to confirm if Tabatabai was injured or killed in the attack.

However, senior Hezbollah official Mahmoud Qmati confirmed a central figure from the group was targeted, saying Israel’s strike crossed a “red line” and that the group’s leadership was considering whether it would respond.
The Israeli attack took place despite a ceasefire that came into effect a year ago to end hostilities that had erupted into a full-blown war.

Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) reported that two missiles were fired at the apartment building on al-Arid Street in Haret Hreik neighbourhood of Dahiyeh, and significant damage was inflicted on cars and surrounding buildings.

Ambulances arrived immediately at the scene and transported the injured to nearby hospitals, it said. A large plume of smoke could be seen in the busy neighbourhood, according to the local media.
One video widely circulated on social media showed dozens of people crowded around the area of the strike.

Some more reaction from the US on Trump’s peace plan
There has been additional reaction in Washington to the US proposal aimed at ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina and a close ally of Donald Trump, called the deal an opportunity to end the war “honorably and justly,” while insisting that Congress must have oversight.

Posting on X, he wrote: “Congress should also have the ability to review a plan that includes any future security guarantees — just like we have the ability to review any Iran nuclear agreement. Congressional review will allow us to achieve that goal.”

Graham is one of the GOP’s most prominent foreign-policy hawks and has long influenced congressional debates.

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Republican from Pennsylvania, struck a more skeptical tone. “Any agreement that requires any element of trust placed in Vladimir Putin’s ‘promise’ is not worth the paper it is written on,” he said.

Fitzpatrick added that acknowledging Putin’s occupation of Ukrainian territory and allowing it to determine which alliances Kyiv can join would set a “a brand new precedent”.

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28m ago (18:45 GMT)