The Lebanon ceasefire seems definitively off, as the capital of Beirut has come under heavy attack on Wednesday, with Israeli officials describing the military action as atargeted assassination of a top Hezbollah commander.
"Israeli forces have targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs for the second time today, causing a loud explosion and extensive damage,"Al Jazeerareports. "The Israeli army confirmed the attack and said that it was targeting a commander of Hezbollah's Radwan Force."
This marks the first day in nearly a month that Israeli jets have bombed Beirut, given the relative period of calm during a US-mediated ceasefire.
"The IDF has just struck in Beirut the commander of the Radwan Force in the Hezbollah terror organization toeliminate him," an Israeli statement has confirmed.
Defense Minister Israel Katz says that Radwan Force operatives"were responsible for firing [rockets] at Israeli communities and harming IDF soldiers."
"No terrorist has immunity, Israel’s long arm will reach every enemy and murderer. We promised to bring security to the residents of the north. This is how we act, and this is how we will continue to act," the statement added.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also confirmed that he ordered the military to carry out the killing. Al Jazeera provides some further detailsas follows:
Israeli warplanes targeted an apartment withthree missiles in the vicinity of Haret Hreik in the southern suburbs of Beirut, NNA reported.
Jets were also reportedly flying at a verylow altitude over the Bekaa Valley.
This strongly suggests Lebanon is on the brink of once again entering full-fledged fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Already a conflict has been raging in the far south, but now Israeli forces seem to be expanding to a total aerial operation once again.
Source: ZeroHedge News
