Lebanese Foreign Minister Didn't Expect Israel To Attack Beirut, Hoping Hezbollah's Response Won't Trigger Escalation

JAKARTA - Lebanese main diplomats said they did not expect Israel to attack Beirut by targeting one of Hezbollah's senior commanders, hoping the response given by the militant group would not trigger an escalation.

A loud explosion was heard and plumes of smoke were seen billowing over the southern suburbs of Beirut, Iran-backed Hezbollah's stronghold), a Reuters witness said.

Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said his government condemned Israeli attacks and planned to file a complaint with the United Nations.

"We didn't expect they would attack Beirut and they attacked Beirut," he told Reuters, hoping Hezbollah's response would not trigger an escalation.

"Hopefully any response will be proportional and nothing more than that, so this wave of killings, beatings and shootings will stop," he said.

Israel's attack on the southern suburbs of Beirut also killed three civilians including two children, medical and security sources said.

Meanwhile, Al Manar Lebanese TV quoted the Lebanese health ministry as reporting 74 people injured along with three people killed in attacks around the Shura Hezbollah Council, a decision-making body, in the Haret Hreik neighborhood.

As previously reported, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) attack on a building in southern Beirut, Lebanon on Tuesday night killed Hezbollah's most senior military commander, Fuad Shukr, a figure Israel says is responsible for Saturday's deadly rocket attack on Majdal Shams.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant confirmed the attack and said Shukr killed many Israelis.

"Tonight, the IDF conducted the right and professional operation to kill the most senior Hezbollah military commander," Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant tweeted, as quoted July 31.

"Fuad Shukr 'Sayyid' Muhsan has shed the blood of many Israelis on his hands. Tonight, we have shown that the blood of our people is priced, and there is no place that our troops cannot reach to achieve this goal," he continued.

Fuad Shukr, Hezbollah's most senior military commander and terror leader Hassan Nasrallah's right-hand man, were killed in the attack, which left a large hole on the side of the eight-story apartment building in southern Beirut, the IDF said, quoted by The Times of Israel.

The attack followed intensive diplomacy for days aimed at curbing Israel's response to rocket attacks on Saturday's Golan Heights football field that killed 12 children, amid concerns that Israel's retaliation could lead to tensions that have grown into an all-out war.

It was reportedly carried out with a drone launching three rockets in Dahieh, a suburbs south of Beirut and a base of an Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group, at around 7:40 p.m. local time. Residents reported hearing a loud explosion followed by plumes of smoke seen billowing above the neighborhood.

IDF said Shukr was a senior military adviser to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who acted as his "right hand".

The Israeli military considers it "responsible for most of Hezbollah's most advanced weapons, including precision-guided missiles, cruise missiles, antiship missiles, long-range rockets, and UAVs" and for "assembly of forces, planning, and execution of attacks on Israel.