Israel-Lebanon latest: ‘At least 37 killed’ in Beirut by Israeli strike which left Hezbollah leader dead

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has issued a short statement following an airstrike on Beirut that has killed a senior Hezbollah leader.

On social media, he said: “Our goals are clear, and our actions speak for themselves.”

The White House has said the a video of Israeli soliders apparently pushing four lifeless bodies from a rooftop in the West Bank is “deeply disturbing”.

The video emerged following a raid, with the behaviour from IDF soliders in the town of Qabatiya seen as the latest in a series of suspected violations by Israeli forces since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

Human rights groups say the videos provide fresh evidence of how Israel routinely uses excessive force against Palestinians. The Israeli military said in a statement that the incident would be reviewed and investigated, and “does not coincide with (its) values and the expectations from (its) soldiers.”

A White House spokesperson called it “deeply disturbing,” and said Israel has pledged to investigate.

After the strike in Beirut, local broadcasters showed groups of people gathered near the site, and reported they were searching for at least 10 people who had been in the vicinity and were still missing, most of them children.

Drones were still flying over Beirut’s southern suburb hours after the strike, which is believed to have been targeting a gathering of Hezbollah commanders.

“We are not afraid, but we want a solution. We cannot continue with the country like this,” said Alain Feghali, a resident of Beirut said. “War? I don’t know if it started or not, but nothing is reassuring. It is clear that the two sides will not stop.”

Hezbollah did not make any official statements on the strike, and did not immediately confirm that Aqil was targeted or killed.

The UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine-Hennis Plasschaert, said Friday’s strike in a densely populated area of Beirut’s southern suburbs was part of “an extremely dangerous cycle of violence with devastating consequences. This must stop now.”

The UN said it was “very concerned” after Israeli airstrikes hit the Lebanese capital Beirut on Friday, killing at least 12 people and wounding dozens.

A statement from Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary general António Guterres, reads: “We are, of course, very concerned about the heightened escalation... including the deadly strikes we saw in Beirut today.

“We urge all parties to deescalate immediately. All must exercise maximum restraint.”

A Lebanese-Belgian dual citizen accused by the United States of financing the armed group Hezbollah pleaded guilty on Friday in a criminal case charging him with sanctions evasion and money-laundering conspiracies, the Justice Department said.

Lawyers for Mohammad Bazzi told federal prosecutors in Brooklyn this month that he wanted to change his plea.

Bazzi, 60, pleaded not guilty last year to three felony counts, including attempting to transact with a sanctioned terrorist organization.

The Israeli military’s chief spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said the strike on Beirut’s southern Dahiya district targeted and killed Ibrahim Akil, a commander of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, as well as 10 other Hezbollah operatives.

There was no immediate confirmation of Akil’s death from Hezbollah.The Israeli military did not elaborate on the identities of the other commanders allegedly killed in the strike on the crowded urban neighborhood.

Lebanese health officials said at least 12 people were killed and 66 others were wounded there. Nine of the wounded, they said, were in serious condition.

A Hezbollah official confirmed that Akil was supposed to be in the building that was hit but gave no further information. Akil has served on Hezbollah’s highest military body, the Jihad Council, and has been sanctioned by the United States for being involved in two terrorist attacks in 1983 that killed more than 300 people.

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Friday that Israel would continue its new phase of war following the assassination of senior Hezbollah commanders in Beirut.

“The sequence of actions in the new phase will continue until our goal is achieved: the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes,” he said in a statement on the social media platform X.

Israel says it has killed a top Hezbollah commander in a strike on Beirut, fuelling fears of an all-out war on the Israeli-Lebanon border.

Israeli military said that Ibrahim Aqi Aqil, who served on Hezbollah’s top military body, was the acting commander of the group’s elite Radwan force and that he was killed along with around 10 other senior commanders of the unit.

The strike killed nine people and wounded 59 others, Lebanon’s health ministry said, in a preliminary toll – with the blast destroying multiple residential apartments.

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The number of people killed in the Beirut strike has risen to 12, Lebanon’s health ministry have said.

There are now 66 people injured, nine of whom are in critical condition, it adds.

The IDF says it killed several senior Hezbollah figures, including top commander Ibrahim Aqil.

Reaching a Gaza ceasefire deal is still realistic, US President Joe Biden said at the White House on Friday, telling reporters: “We have to keep at it.”

Asked about the impact of fighting elsewhere in the region, Biden also said: “We have to make sure that the people of northern Israel as well as southern Lebanon are able to get back to their homes, and get back safely.”