Israel targets top Hezbollah figure in Beirut strike, sources say

BEIRUT/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The Israeli military targeted a top Hezbollah military commander in an airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs on Friday, two security sources in Lebanon said, sharply escalating the year-long conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed group.

The target was Hezbollah's operations commander Ibrahim Aqil, who serves on the group's top military body, two security sources in Lebanon and Israeli Army Radio reported.

The strike killed three people and wounded 17 others, Lebanon's health ministry said, in a preliminary toll.

Lebanon's civil defence said its rescue teams were searching for missing people under the rubble after two residential buildings collapsed.

The Israeli military said it had conducted a "targeted strike" in Beirut, without giving further details.

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The strike inflicted another blow on Hezbollah after the group suffered an unprecedented attack earlier this week in which pagers and walkie talkies used by its members exploded, killing 37 people and wounding thousands. The attack was widely believed to have been carried out by Israel, which has neither confirmed or denied its involvement.

It marks the second time in less than two months that Israel has targeted a top Hezbollah military commander in Beirut. In July, an Israeli airstrike killed Fuad Shukr, the group's top military commander.

Aqil has a $7 million bounty on his head from the United States over his link to the deadly bombing of Marines in Lebanon in 1983, according to the U.S. State Department website.

RUBBLE AND BURNT OUT CARS

Reuters witnesses heard jet noise over Beirut around the time of the attack, and a cloud of smoke could be seen rising from the area of the strike.

"The IDF (Israel Defence Forces) conducted a targeted strike in Beirut. At this moment, there are no changes in the Home Front Command defensive guidelines," the Israeli military said.

Footage of the targeted building showed a badly damaged building and the street strewn with rubble and burnt out cars.

Hezbollah's al-Manar TV declared it an act of aggression on the southern suburbs known as the Dahiyeh.

Ignited by the Gaza war, the conflict has intensified significantly this week.

On Thursday night, the Israeli military carried out its most intensive airstrikes in southern Lebanon since the conflict erupted almost a year ago.

The year-long conflict between Israel and Hezbollah is the worst since they fought a war in 2006. Tens of thousands have had to leave homes on both sides of the border.

While the conflict has largely been contained to areas at, or near the frontier, this week's escalation has heightened concerns that it could widen and further intensify.

Israeli newspapers reported that due to the current situation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had delayed his trip to New York for the United Nations General Assembly by a day and would arrive on Wednesday.

Britain's foreign minister David Lammy chaired a meeting of the government's emergency committee, known as COBR, on Friday to discuss the latest situation in Lebanon.

"The Foreign Secretary has chaired a meeting of COBR this morning on the latest situation in Lebanon and to discuss ongoing preparedness work, with the risk of escalation remaining high," the Foreign Office said in a statement.