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The Israeli military reportedly struck the top military official of Lebanon's Iran-aligned faction the Hezbollah organization in a strike on the capital's southern district, per the Israeli prime minister's office on Sunday.

This marked the initial attack in months on the southern district of the capital city, an zone renowned for hosting Hezbollah officials.

Target Identified as Ali Tabtabai

The focus of the attack was the commanding officer the Hezbollah chief of staff, per an source from Israel briefed on the incident and a Lebanese security source. The PM's office did not state whether the official was fatally wounded.

US Notification Details

A senior US official stated that Israeli authorities did not notify Washington in advance about the airstrike, as mentioned in a social media post.

The authority noted that the US government was alerted right after the strike, and a second senior US official stated that the United States had known for days that Israeli forces was preparing to increase operations in Lebanon.

Background on the Target

The US imposed restrictions on Tabtabai in 2016, labeling him as a prominent military figure in the group and announcing a reward of up to five million dollars for details on him.

Attack Details and Consequences

The blast impacted a main road in Beirut's southern suburbs, where inhabitants stated detecting the noise of warplanes before the detonation.

Residents rushed out of their apartment buildings out of concern of further strikes, according to a journalist in the region.

No fewer than two individuals were fatally wounded and two dozen were wounded and taken to hospitals in the vicinity, according to medical sources.

There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah.

Ongoing Israel's Operations

Attacks by Israel on Hezbollah over the past couple of years have taken the lives of its previous chief Hassan Nasrallah, a large portion of the group's top military brass and about 5,000 fighters.

Comments from Israeli Leadership

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

“Our efforts will persist to do everything needed to prevent the group from re-establishing its ability to pose a danger to us,” he stated.

Wider Situation

Israel has stepped up bombing raids in south Lebanon, continuing a campaign of near-daily attacks that it claims is aimed to prevent a military revival by the faction in the border area.

Israel has charged the group of seeking to acquire arms since a American-endorsed peace agreement recently.

The faction says it has followed conditions for it to end its armed deployment in the frontier area near the Israeli border, and for the Lebanese army to position there.