A loud explosion echoed and a column of smoke was visible ascending late on Tuesday over the southern suburbs of Beirut, a stronghold of the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, according to a Reuters witness.
The Israeli Defence Forces claimed responsibility for a targeted strike in Beirut, aimed at the "commander implicated in the murder of children in Majdal Shams and the deaths of numerous other Israeli civilians". Tensions have been high in the city for days, with an expected Israeli retaliation following a strike on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that resulted in the death of a dozen children. Both Israel and the United States have accused Hezbollah of orchestrating the attack, a charge Hezbollah has vehemently denied.
