Israel kills Hezbollah commander in Beirut, vows more airstrikes

BEIRUT/JERUSALEM — An Israeli airstrike on Beirut killed a senior Hezbollah commander on Tuesday as cross-border rocket attacks by both sides increased fears of a full-fledged war in the Middle East.

Israel’s military said the airstrike on the Lebanese capital killed Ibrahim Qubaisi, who it said was the commander of Hezbollah’s missile and rocket force. Two security sources in Lebanon described him as a leading figure in the Iran-backed group’s rocket division.

Israel’s military later said the airforce also conducted “extensive strikes” on Hezbollah targets across southern Lebanon, including weapons storage facilities and dozens of launchers that were aimed at Israeli territory.

“Hezbollah today is not the same Hezbollah we knew a week ago. (It) has suffered a sequence of blows to its command and control, its fighters, and the means to fight,” Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said, adding the strikes would continue.

“These are all severe blows,” he told Israeli troops.

Lebanon reported 569 people had been killed and 1,835 wounded since Israel launched heavy strikes on Monday morning, including 50 children, Health Minister Firass Abiad told Al Jazeera Mubasher TV.

Hezbollah said it launched rockets on Tuesday at the Dado military base in northern Israel and attacked the Atlit naval base south of Haifa with drones, among other targets. The Israeli military said sirens sounded in the early evening in the northern city of Safed, where Dado is located, and nearby areas. It did not say whether the base was hit.

Israel’s new offensive against Hezbollah has stoked fears that nearly a year of conflict between Israel and the militant Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza could destabilise the Middle East.

At the U.N., U.S. President Joe Biden sought to calm Mideast tensions. “Full-scale war is not in anyone’s interest, even if a situation has escalated, a diplomatic solution is still possible,” he told the 193-member U.N. General Assembly.

Israel is shifting its focus from Gaza to the northern frontier, where Hezbollah has been firing rockets into Israel in support of Hamas, which is also backed by Iran.

Israel wants to secure its northern border and allow displaced residents to return. This has set the stage for a long conflict, while Hezbollah has said it will not back down until a ceasefire is reached in Gaza.

Meanwhile, Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said Israel was open to ideas for de-escalating the conflict in Lebanon. “We are not eager to start any ground invasion anywhere… We prefer a diplomatic solution,” he told reporters.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Lebanese citizens to reject Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

“Our war is not with you, our war is with Hezbollah. Nasrallah is leading you to the brink of the abyss,” Netanyahu said at an Israeli army base.