Beirut’s southern suburbs struck again as Israel targets senior Hezbollah commander; details emerge

Report by Lara El Hachem, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian

Some Lebanese believed that Beirut’s southern suburbs had been spared, and so they returned. However, they overlooked a statement from the U.S. State Department issued after the second round of direct Israeli-Lebanese talks in Washington, which effectively granted Israel latitude to act. 

The statement explicitly stated that Israel “shall preserve its right to take all necessary measures in self-defense, at any time, against planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks. This shall not be impeded by the cessation of hostilities.”

Back on the ground: On Wednesday evening, warplanes struck an 11-story building in Haret Hreik, causing its upper six floors to collapse onto one another.

Within minutes, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in coordination with Defense Minister Israel Katz, said he had ordered a strike on the commander of Hezbollah’s Radwan Force. The Israeli army later confirmed the killing of Ahmad Ali Ballout.

From Israel’s side, the operation was confirmed. In Lebanon, however, there was no official confirmation of Ballout’s killing and no final casualty count, due to the scale of the strike and ongoing rubble-clearing operations. 

What is confirmed is that civilians are among the dead. What is likely, according to Israeli assessments, is that a military meeting was underway at the time of the strike.

Hezbollah, meanwhile, has remained silent.

Sources say Hezbollah has, since the start of the current war, avoided formally announcing the deaths of its fighters and commanders as part of a new organizational strategy. Instead, it announces casualties only during funerals when they take place.

Under this strategy, the group no longer relies on fixed meetings in buildings, halls, or offices, instead adopting a mobile meeting approach, sometimes in open areas. 

It considers this approach successful, noting that Israel has publicly confirmed the targeting of only two senior figures since the beginning of the war: Ahmad Ballout and Youssef Hashem, whom Israel described as a southern front commander.

Sources told LBCI that Hashem was tracked after repeatedly traveling to the Jnah area for mobile meetings, where he was eventually killed.

What happened in Haret Hreik may reflect a similar case, especially given claims that the southern suburbs had been “spared,” following a reported call between Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump. However, experience with Israel suggests it does not observe red lines.