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Israeli forces reportedly struck the chief of staff of the Lebanese Iran-aligned group Hezbollah in a strike on the capital's southern district, as stated by the Israeli prime minister's office on Sunday.

This represented the initial airstrike in several months on the southern district of the Lebanese capital, an region renowned for sheltering Hezbollah officials.

Objective Identified as Ali Tabtabai

The objective of the strike was the commanding officer Ali Tabtabai, per an Israeli source informed about the strike and a Lebanese security source. The prime minister's office did not state whether Tabtabai was killed.

American Alert Details

A high-ranking American official indicated that Israel did not notify Washington beforehand about the operation, per a social media post.

The official clarified that the US government was alerted right after the incident, and a second senior US official stated that the United States had known for days that Israeli forces was planning to increase attacks in the country.

Background on the Target

The US levied restrictions on the Hezbollah official in recent years, classifying him as a prominent Hezbollah military leader and offering a bounty of up to $5m for intel on him.

Strike Particulars and Consequences

The blast struck a primary street in Beirut's southern suburbs, where locals mentioned noticing the roar of jets before the explosion.

Residents fled out of their apartment buildings out of fear of additional attacks, per a reporter in the zone.

At least two individuals were lost their lives and two dozen were wounded and rushed to medical facilities in the area, per health officials.

There was no immediate comment from the organization.

Recent Israel's Operations

Attacks by Israel on Hezbollah over the last two years have killed its ex-head Hassan Nasrallah, a large portion of the group's top military brass and about five thousand combatants.

Comments from Prime Minister

The Israeli leader informed his cabinet on Sunday morning before the strike that Israel would carry on to fight “militant activities” on several fronts.

“We shall carry on to do everything needed to prevent Hezbollah from restoring its ability to pose a danger to us,” he declared.

Wider Context

Israel has increased airstrikes in southern Lebanon, continuing a operation of frequent strikes that it claims is designed to hinder a rebuilding of capabilities by the faction in the frontier region.

Israeli authorities has charged Hezbollah of seeking to acquire arms since a truce supported by the US the previous year.

The group says it has complied with conditions for it to cease its troop placement in the boundary zone near Israel, and for the national army to deploy there.