BEIRUT/JERUSALEM >> Israel killed militant group Hezbollah’s top military official in an airstrike on a southern suburb of Beirut on Sunday, the Israeli military said, despite a U.S.-brokered truce a year ago.

The strike, the first on the outskirts of the Lebanese capital in months, targeted Iran-backed Hezbollah’s acting chief of staff, Ali Tabtabai, the military said in a statement.

There was no immediate confirmation of his killing from Hezbollah, although senior Hezbollah official Mahmoud Qmati confirmed a central figure from the group had been targeted.

Speaking near the bombed-out building in the Haret Hreik suburb, he said Israel’s strike crossed a “red line”. Qmati said Hezbollah’s leadership would decide on whether and how the group would respond.

Five dead in strike

The Unit

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