Israel bombs Beirut’s southern suburb as it targets Hezbollah commander

[0:00] The Israeli military claims it's assassinated a senior Hezbollah commander [0:04] in an attack on Beirut's southern suburbs. [0:07] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he approved the airstrike [0:11] targeting Malik Balu, a fighter with the group's Radwan force. [0:15] It's the first time the Israeli military struck the Beirut suburbs [0:18] since a U.S.-brokered ceasefire was agreed in April. [0:22] Hezbollah has yet to confirm the assassination. [0:25] For more, we're going now to Obedeh Hito, [0:27] who joins us live from Tyre in southern Lebanon. [0:29] Can you tell us more, Obedeh, about the latest attacks in the southern suburbs? [0:34] Yeah, this attack happened around 90 minutes ago, [0:41] a quarter to eight in local time. [0:44] Around that time, there was a general calm across the country in general [0:49] in the southern suburbs. [0:52] There has been a cautious calm since the start of the ceasefire. [0:55] This is the first strike on the southern suburbs since April 9th. [1:00] There was a sort of untold or unspoken agreement that Beirut would not be targeted during the ceasefire, [1:07] while Israel reserved the right to target any other places that they said would [1:13] was, were posing a threat to Israeli national security. [1:19] But today, what we're seeing is Israel is going to be targeting places even in the southern suburbs. [1:28] There were lots of people who returned to the southern suburbs during this ceasefire. [1:33] The videos that are coming out show a neighborhood that's filled with actually civilians, families. [1:39] I've spoken to some people here who have some family members in the southern suburbs [1:44] who have decided to leave following these strikes. [1:47] Since this strike happened, there's some mixed messaging coming out of Tel Aviv. [1:52] It's not clear whether or not it was an aerial attack, jets in the sky that carried out these strikes, [2:00] or if it was missiles launched from ships at sea. [2:04] There is also some confusion about exactly who was the target in this building in the southern suburbs. [2:11] Some people are assuming that the alleged target was Malik Ballut, [2:15] the commander of the Ridwan forces in Hezbollah. [2:20] This is a kind of elite group of fighters that are part of the Hezbollah group here in Lebanon [2:28] that have been at the forefront of the fight against Israel. [2:31] They've been responsible for developing weapons and launching rockets and missiles, [2:37] as well as developing this drone program that has been causing Israel a lot of trouble over the last several days. [2:45] It's not confirmed yet. [2:46] Hezbollah released its own statement saying that a high-level commander was targeted. [2:51] It's not clear whether or not they were killed, along with any other members of the Ridwan force leadership [3:00] or Hezbollah's leadership. [3:01] But what we do know is that this was a surprise for most people here in Lebanon, [3:07] because since the ceasefire went into effect, it seemed like the southern suburbs were not going to be targeted. [3:14] But we've heard now, since this strike happened, from multiple Israeli sources saying that Israel was going to be targeting anyone [3:23] that poses a threat to Israel and Israel's northern communities, no matter where they are in the country. [3:30] There is supposed to be a ceasefire in place, but attacks clearly are continuing. [3:35] Residents are now being told to evacuate. [3:37] How dangerous is the situation there for civilians? [3:39] I think that the situation is getting more and more dangerous as every hour goes by, [3:50] because it's these kinds of situations that cause panic, that cause fear. [3:56] There's already people fleeing the southern suburbs, local reports indicating that people have started to leave their homes in the southern suburbs. [4:05] Following strikes today in southern Lebanon, there were several towns and villages that were warned, [4:11] and these very auspicious warnings that are released by Israeli officials on social media warning people that their towns or villages are going to be attacked. [4:20] And in those places today, we saw a new wave of displacement. [4:25] More and more people returned to the south following the ceasefire. [4:29] We're more than two weeks into the ceasefire. [4:32] You're getting a reaction from people here with a lot of mixed emotions. [4:36] People thought they were going to be safe. [4:38] People thought things were going to be calm, but what they've seen over the past two weeks is actually an expansion of Israeli attacks, [4:44] an intensification of Israeli attacks, sometimes in different locations, places that were not expected, [4:50] like we saw today in the western Biqa, where at least four people were killed, [4:54] including the mayor of a town, the town of Zelaya, as well as his wife and child. [4:59] I'm hearing now a huge explosion in the distance here in the south and jets flying above us. [5:05] And all of these factors are contributing to creating a great amount of panic for people who returned, [5:11] thinking they were going to be able to pick up the pieces left behind by more than six weeks of violence. [5:17] But that's not turning into the case. [5:19] And the fear is that after this strike on the southern suburbs, [5:23] that Hezbollah might want to also react and carry out its own strikes, [5:28] which might trigger another reaction, a violent reaction from Israel. [5:32] So this cycle of violence continues to snowball and get bigger and bigger, [5:36] which is going to have a very horrific impact on the civilians who just want to get on with their lives. [5:43] Indeed. [5:44] Obeyed Ahito joining us from Tyre in Lebanon with the latest. [5:47] Thank you.