Israel may have finally carried out its threat with its deadly military strike, Tuesday, on the southern suburb of Beirut.
The strike as reported by the media is devastating with pictures of large explosions trending on the social media.
Different scenarios are being draw up. Reports range from the strike being near the Hezbollah Shura headquarters, a nearby hospital and an apartment in a building belonging Fouad Shukr, a senior director of the Hezbollah’s missile accuracy project and a senior advisor to Hassan Nasrallah.
Reports also say the target through an Israeli drone with missiles was aimed at the Rabie building in Haret Hreik, a Hezbollah stronghold. The building subsequently collapsed with at least two people reported killed.
Lebanese sources four say floors were leveled to the ground with rescue and ambulance crews continuing to remove the rubble and transport the injured with the number of injuries initially rising to 10.
However, the injuries continued to rise with a four killed and 80 injured including six children that arrived at the Bahman hospital.
While Israeli sources point to the success of the operation Hezbollah denies that Shukr was targeted and killed. The Israeli army said it targeted the commander responsible for the military operation on a school in Majdal Shams in the occupied Golan Heights in which 12 children were killed, Saturday.
An Israeli military source said: “This is our response to the shooting of Majdal Shams…we have no intention of starting an all-out war. If Hezbollah does not respond, the event will end.”
But people in the southern suburb of Beirut are up-in-arms. They are calling for retaliation with chats of support for Hezbollah and its chief Hassan Nasrallah who is promising to hit back at Israel. He has already warned that if Beirut and the southern suburbs are hit, Tel Aviv will also be hit.
And this suggests that this is the beginning of escalation between Hezbollah and Israel that could lead to an all-out war.