Beirut, Lebanon. Israel’s military said it struck Iranian commanders in Beirut early on Sunday, expanding its operations into the Lebanese capital after days of strikes that Lebanon says have killed nearly 400 people.
Strike in Beirut and stated targets
Israel said the drone strike was the first within Beirut’s city limits since Israel-Hezbollah hostilities resumed last week, and came amid heavy bombardment of Beirut’s southern suburbs and strikes in southern and eastern Lebanon.
Israel said it targeted key commanders of Iran’s elite Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards, without naming them.
“The commanders of the Quds Force’s Lebanon Corps operated to advance terror attacks against the state of Israel and its civilians, while operating simultaneously for the IRGC in Iran,” the Israeli military said in a statement.
An Israeli military source said the strike targeted five senior Quds Force members, including intelligence and finance personnel.
Casualties and reported death tolls
Lebanon said four people were killed in the Beirut strike, according to the health ministry.
The ministry said on Sunday that the death toll had reached 394 people, including at least 83 children and 42 women, and it does not distinguish between civilians and military personnel.
Israel’s military spokesperson Nadav Shoshani said in an online briefing that about 200 Hezbollah militants had been killed. Hezbollah has not published a toll for its fighters.
Escalation after Hezbollah fire into Israel
Lebanon was drawn into the widening US-Israel war with Iran on Monday after the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah fired into Israel, according to the report.
Israel responded with heavy strikes across southern and eastern Lebanon and near Beirut.
Deadliest recent strikes
The report said the deadliest recent strikes were in eastern Lebanon.
What impact do you think the expanding strikes into Beirut will have on the wider conflict?
