Israeli warplanes launched an airstrike targeting a senior Hezbollah leader in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Tuesday, as part of the continued Israeli bombardment of the area considered a Hezbollah stronghold for the second consecutive day.

The Israeli Armed Forces announced in an official statement the elimination of Ibrahim Qbeisi, the commander of Hezbollah's rocket unit, following the airstrike. Lebanese sources had earlier supported the possibility of Qbeisi's death, and following the Israeli announcement, a source close to Hezbollah confirmed the incident.

The Israeli army clarified in its statement that "warplanes, guided by intelligence, carried out an operation against Ibrahim Muhammad Qbeisi, responsible for Hezbollah's missile and rocket systems." The statement added that Qbeisi "was responsible for various rocket units in Hezbollah, including precision-guided missile units."

The Israeli statement mentioned that Qbeisi was accompanied by several senior commanders of Hezbollah's missile system at the time of the strike.

The Lebanese Ministry of Health announced that the toll from the Israeli raid on the southern suburbs of Beirut reached 6 dead and 15 wounded, in an unprecedented escalation since the exchange of fire between Hezbollah and Israel began about a year ago.

A security source reported that "the Israeli raid targeted two floors of a building in the Ghobeiry area" consisting of 6 floors in the southern suburb.

This attack comes in the wake of an Israeli raid on the southern suburb on Monday, which targeted, according to a source close to the party, the commander of Hezbollah's southern Lebanon front, Ali Karaki. However, the party later announced in a statement that Karaki "is in good health" and moved to a "safe location."

Israeli raids renewed since Tuesday morning on areas of Baalbek-Hermel, Nabi Sheet, Talia, and Shmustar in eastern Lebanon. They also affected areas of the Bekaa and villages in the districts of Baalbek and Hermel, according to Al Arabiya and Al Hadath correspondent.

In response, rockets were launched from southern Lebanon towards multiple areas in northern Israel in the Galilee and Haifa Bay.

Hezbollah's media office warned on Tuesday that Israel is dropping leaflets containing a "very dangerous" barcode on areas of the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon, warning that scanning this barcode using a phone would lead to "extracting all information" from any device.

As a result of this escalation, waves of displacement continue from southern villages fleeing the bombardment, and some gas stations and bakeries are witnessing overcrowding.

Hundreds have also fled from Lebanon to Syria through two border points. A security source told Agence France-Presse, "The number of people who crossed the border through the Al-Qusayr (eastern Lebanon) and Al-Dabousiyah (northern) crossings was estimated at about 500 people between 4 pm until midnight" on Monday.

In light of this escalation, Lebanese Health Minister Firas Al-Abiad announced the activation of emergency plans, indicating that the number of deaths has reached 558 while the number of injured has reached at least 1,835.

Israel had carried out a series of morning raids on the Lebanese Bekaa, including villages in the Baalbek district, including Nabi Sheet, Dours, Shaat, and Hermel, after a long night of shelling and displacement accompanied by the widest Israeli air incursion since the 2006 war.

Israel announced today that it bombed dozens of Hezbollah targets overnight in several areas of southern Lebanon. The army said in a statement, "During the night... the Israeli Air Force struck dozens of Hezbollah targets in several areas in southern Lebanon," adding that its artillery and tanks also targeted additional "targets" in the Aita al-Shaab and Ramyah areas.

In response, rockets were launched from southern Lebanon towards multiple areas in northern Israel in the Galilee and Haifa Bay. Al Arabiya and Al Hadath correspondent reported that Hezbollah announced targeting Kiryat Shmona with rockets. The Al Arabiya and Al Hadath correspondent also reported that a number of rockets were intercepted, while others fell in open areas.

The correspondent added that the Ramat David base in Marj Ibn Amer was targeted, indicating that rockets from Lebanon hit the Israeli Golani military base in the Lower Galilee.

Israeli reports mentioned the interception of rockets over the Afula area, and Israeli media reported that 9 wounded arrived at the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya in the morning.

Hezbollah announced that its fighters shelled the Israeli Megiddo military airport west of Afula with Fadi 1 and Fadi 2 rockets, and also targeted the Ramat David base and airport with Fadi 2 rockets.

Earlier, Hezbollah announced through its media targeting an explosives factory 60 km deep inside Israeli territory, while Israel said that more than 50 rockets were launched from Lebanon this morning towards the north "and most of them were intercepted."

The Israeli Air Force launched hundreds of raids from the early morning hours of yesterday until late night hours, targeting all villages and towns in the south, northern Bekaa, and western Bekaa, and the bombardment extended to the outskirts of Jbeil, Lasa, and Keserwan before hitting the southern suburb again in an attempt to assassinate Ali Karaki, the official responsible for Hezbollah's southern front, with the party later announcing his survival and transfer to a safe place.

All of this was accompanied by a large wave of displacement from the south towards Beirut, which led to thousands being trapped in their cars until midnight.

For its part, Hezbollah expanded the scope of its rocket response to include Israeli sites and bases extending from northern settlements to Tiberias, the Golan, Afula, Safed, Haifa, and many cities and settlements on the Israeli internal front, reaching a depth of 120 kilometers from the border, targeting settlements in the West Bank east of Tel Aviv for the first time.

The hundreds of Israeli raids on Hezbollah targets in many areas in Lebanon left 492 dead, including 35 children, according to Lebanese authorities, in the most violent aerial bombardment ever targeting this country since the exchange of fire began on both sides of the border about a year ago against the backdrop of the war in Gaza.

Levant - Agencies