Israel military ‘targeted’ Hezbollah operative linked to Hamas in Beirut strike
The targeted Hezbollah operative had reportedly directed Hamas personnel and assisted them in planning imminent terror attack against Israelis.
Israel's military said Tuesday it carried out a strike on a southern suburb of the Lebanese capital Beirut targeting a Hezbollah operative, the second such strike since a November ceasefire.
"The strike targeted a Hezbollah terrorist who had recently directed Hamas operatives and assisted them in planning a significant and imminent terror attack against Israeli civilians," the Israeli military said in a joint statement with the domestic Shin Bet security agency.
It said it "acted to eliminate him and removed the threat" in Hezbollah's Dahieh stronghold, without naming the target.
The latest strike comes after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned last week Israel would "strike everywhere in Lebanon against any threat" after rocket fire prompted it to bomb south Beirut for the first time during a fragile four-month-old truce with Hezbollah.
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem on Saturday condemned the resumption of Israeli strikes on the city.
"This aggression must end. We cannot allow this to continue," Qassem said in a televised address.
The Tehran-backed Lebanese movement denied involvement in the rocket fire that Israel said prompted it to strike Beirut.
Israel has continued to carry out strikes on southern and eastern Lebanon in the months since the ceasefire, hitting what it says are Hezbollah military targets that violated the agreement.
Under the terms of the ceasefire, Israel was due to complete its withdrawal from Lebanon by February 18 after missing a January deadline, but it has kept troops in five places it deems "strategic".
