An Israeli airstrike on a residential building in central Beirut killed at least 11 people on Saturday, the Lebanese Health Ministry said, part of an intensifying Israeli military campaign that appears aimed at pressuring Hezbollah into a cease-fire deal.
The strike was an attempt to assassinate a top Hezbollah military commander, Mohammad Haidar, according to three Israeli defense officials who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations.
Hezbollah officials on Saturday afternoon said that none of the group’s leaders were at the site of the airstrike, and later in the day, one of the Israeli officials said Mr. Haidar was not killed.
The strike came just after 4 a.m., jolting Beirut residents awake with thundering explosions that left much of the city enveloped in acrid smoke.
It was the third strike this week in central Beirut, an area that had largely been spared since the war between Hezbollah and Israel escalated.
Persons:
Mohammad Haidar, Mr, Haidar, Firass Abiad
Organizations:
Lebanese Health Ministry, Health Ministry
Locations:
Beirut, Lebanon, Israel, Basta