Israeli forces carry out attack in Beirut

Israel claimed responsibility for a "targeted strike" in Beirut today, in retribution for a 27 July rocket attack that killed 12 people in the Golan Heights.

Today's strike targeted the Lebanon-based Hezbollah's commander who allegedly was responsible for the Golan Heights attack, Israel's Defense Forces said.

Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged fire almost daily since 8 October last year, a day after Hamas first attacked Israel. Those skirmishes have mostly targeted military sites, but the weekend strike was by far the deadliest attack on civilians inside Israeli territory in those cross-border exchanges.

Israeli leaders vowed to retaliate for the 27 July attack, while the US and European powers urged Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to refrain from taking a step that would lead to greater confrontation.

Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian, who took office today, said on Monday that there would be "serious consequences" if Israel carries out a retaliatory strike in Lebanon.

The prospect of violence spreading in the Middle East has been a concern for the international community, not least in Washington, since the war began between Hamas and Israel. Iran and Israel exchanged direct military strikes at each other's territory in April. The Yemen-based Houthi militant group launched a campaign of targeting commercial vessels in the Red Sea in what it said was a direct response to Israel's actions in Gaza, and recently hit central Tel Aviv using a drone.

By Haik Gugarats