Israel Kills Hezbollah Official in Second Attack in Beirut in Five Days

An Israeli air strike killed four people, including a Hezbollah official in Beirut's southern suburbs on April 1, a Lebanese security source said, further testing a shaky ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.

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The source said the target was a Hezbollah figure "whose responsibilities included the Palestinian file." The Lebanese health ministry said the strike killed four people - including a woman - and wounded seven others.

The Israeli military identified the official as Hassan Bdeir, a member of a Hezbollah unit and Iran's Quds Force who had assisted the Palestinian group Hamas in planning a "significant and imminent terror attack against Israeli civilians."

The attack marked Israel's second air strike in the Hezbollah-controlled suburb of Beirut in five days, adding to strains on the US-brokered ceasefire that ended 2024's devastating conflict.

The attacks on Beirut's southern suburbs have resumed at a time of broader escalation in the region, with Israel having restarted Gaza strikes after a two-month truce and the United States hitting the Iran-aligned Houthis of Yemen in a bid to get them to stop attacking Red Sea shipping.

Hezbollah lawmaker Ibrahim Moussawi said the Israeli attack amounted to "a major and severe aggression that has escalated the situation to an entirely different level."

Speaking in a televised statement after visiting the building that was struck, he called on the Lebanese state to "activate the highest level of diplomacy to find solutions."