Israel Strikes Beirut Suburb in Targeted Attack on Iran-Linked Missile Commander

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief

(Worthy News) – Israel carried out a targeted strike Thursday in a suburb south of Beirut, marking its first attack near the Lebanese capital in three weeks as the conflict with Hezbollah and Iran-backed terrorist groups intensifies.

The Israel Defense Forces said it struck in the Beirut area but did not immediately provide further details. An Israeli security source said the target was Ali al-Husni, also identified in some reports as Ali al-Husseini, commander of the missile array in the Imam Hussein Division, an Iranian-backed militia operating alongside Hezbollah.

The strike took place in Shuwayfat, southeast of Beirut and near Lebanon’s international airport. Smoke was seen rising from a residential neighborhood, though it was not immediately clear whether al-Husni was killed.

The attack was Israel’s first strike near Beirut since May 6, when the IDF killed Ahmad Ali Balout, a commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force. Israel said Balout had directed attacks against IDF forces in southern Lebanon.

The latest strike came as Israel expanded operations against Hezbollah following a surge of drone and missile attacks on Israeli troops and northern communities. Sirens sounded across northern Israel Thursday morning after Hezbollah launched additional missiles and drones.

According to the IDF, Israeli forces struck more than 135 Hezbollah targets over the past day, including rocket launch sites, command centers, weapons depots, infrastructure sites, and a training camp in the Beqaa Valley. In Tyre, Israeli aircraft hit 15 Hezbollah sites the military said were being used to advance attacks against Israel.

The escalation follows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement that Israel would intensify operations in Lebanon after Hezbollah increased its use of fiber-optic exploding drones, a growing threat that has struck Israeli troops and reached northern Israeli border towns. One Israeli soldier was killed Wednesday by a drone on the Israeli side of the border.

Before Thursday’s strikes, IDF Arabic-language spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee issued evacuation warnings for several buildings in Tyre and surrounding neighborhoods.

The Trump administration reportedly approved Israel’s expanded operations against Hezbollah earlier this week but warned Jerusalem against striking Beirut, fearing such attacks could complicate ongoing negotiations with Iran. Israeli officials said Israel has broad freedom of action in southern Lebanon but faces greater diplomatic limits around Beirut.

The Imam Hussein Division was established in 2016 under Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of Iran’s Quds Force who was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad in 2020. The militia includes fighters from across the Middle East and has been identified by the IDF as part of Iran’s proxy network operating from Lebanon against Israel.

The strike comes ahead of planned security talks between Lebanese and Israeli military officials in Washington on Friday. Hezbollah has dismissed the talks and aligned itself with Iran, which has reportedly made ending the Lebanon war a condition in its own negotiations with Washington.

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