Israel bombs southern Lebanon after targeting Hezbollah commander in Beirut

Israel has continued to pound southern Lebanon, killing one person and injuring several others, according to Lebanese state-run media, a day after it targeted a commander of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

A house in the town of Ain Baal, in the Tyre District of southern Lebanon, was hit in an air strike, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported on Thursday.

The Israeli military also carried out three air strikes on the town of Dibbin in the Marjayoun District in the south of the country.

Al Mayadeen English reported that Israeli fighter jets carried out three attacks on the city of Nabatieh, also in southern Lebanon.

The attacks came as Israel issued new evacuation orders for three southern towns — Deir al-Zahrani, Bafroa and Habush — after accusing Hezbollah of violating the ceasefire. Residents were told to stay at least one kilometre (0.6 miles) away from the towns.

The bombardment comes a day after Israel claimed it killed a commander of Hezbollah’s Radwan Force on Wednesday during air strikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut, marking the first strike on the Lebanese capital since the ceasefire came into effect in mid-April.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he and Defence Minister Israel Katz had instructed the army to carry out the attack.

“Radwan terrorists are responsible for shooting at Israeli settlements and harming [Israeli army] soldiers. No terrorist has immunity – Israel’s long hand will catch every enemy and murderer,” Netanyahu said in a post on Telegram.

“We promised to bring security to the residents of the north – this is how we do it and this is how we will continue to do it!” he added.

Hezbollah has not yet responded to the Israeli claim.

Meanwhile, Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said the army had killed more than 220 Hezbollah fighters since the a ceasefire took effect last month. Adraee added that Israel had destroyed more than 180 military sites belonging to Hezbollah since the start of last week.

First attack on Beirut after truce

The attack on the capital was the first since a truce in the Israel-Hezbollah war went into force on April 17.

Since then, Israel and Hezbollah have traded accusations of violating the ceasefire agreement.

Reporting from Tyre, Al Jazeera’s Obaida Hitto said the evening attack took place during a period of calm in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital.

“There has been cautious calm since the start of the ceasefire, and this is the first strike on the capital’s southern suburbs since April 9,” he said.

“There was an unspoken agreement that Beirut would not be targeted during this ceasefire, while Israel reserved the right to target any other places that they said were posing a threat to national security,” he said.

Hitto said many people had returned to the southern suburbs following the beginning of the ceasefire, and videos showed streets filled with people.

Israeli forces carried out numerous strikes on southern and eastern Lebanon on Wednesday despite the truce, killing at least 13 people.

An Israeli strike in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley killed four people, while the Israeli army said it struck Hezbollah targets in the south after warning residents of a dozen towns to evacuate.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for several operations targeting Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, as well as attacks on northern Israel.

Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed more than 2,700 people since March 2, including dozens since the April 17 ceasefire brokered by Washington between Israeli and Lebanese representatives.

The Israeli military says it has also lost 17 soldiers and a civilian contractor in the fighting.