IAF Strike in Beirut Kills Hezbollah Media Chief; Tensions Escalate in Lebanon and Israel

On Sunday, an Israeli Air Force (IAF) strike targeted a densely populated district in Beirut, Lebanon, resulting in the death of Hezbollah's media relations chief, Mohammad Afif. According to Lebanese security sources, the airstrike also hit Hezbollah's stronghold in the Dahiyeh neighborhood, reportedly targeting the residence of the group's former leader, Hassan Nasrallah. This marks a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

The targeted location in Beirut's Dahiyeh neighborhood has been a key Hezbollah base for years, with Nasrallah's home previously attacked in a failed assassination attempt back in 2006. Since then, the house has been rebuilt and is believed to house Hezbollah terror infrastructure. The IAF has been conducting intelligence-based strikes in the area, targeting over 50 sites in the past week alone, according to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). These strikes are aimed at dismantling Hezbollah’s military infrastructure embedded within the civilian population of the neighborhood.

On the same day, Hezbollah fired approximately 80 projectiles into northern Israel, prompting retaliatory strikes by the IAF against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon. The ongoing cross-border exchanges have intensified fears of further escalation.

In addition to the Beirut airstrike, the Lebanese health ministry reported casualties from an alleged Israeli strike on the village of Baalbek in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. Six people were killed, including three children, and eleven others were wounded in the attack. In response, the IDF emphasized that precautions had been taken to minimize civilian casualties, including aerial surveillance, pre-strike warnings, and prior intelligence gathering.

The military tensions have prompted the IDF to declare the northern Israeli towns of Metulla and Kfar Yuval as closed military zones, restricting civilian access in light of the ongoing security threat.