Israel Army says struck senior Hezbollah operative in Beirut

Israel’s military said on Monday (March 2, 2026) it struck a senior Hezbollah operative in Beirut, with the Defence Minister saying the Lebanese group’s chief Naim Qassem is “a marked target”.

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“A short while ago, the (Israeli military) precisely struck a senior Hezbollah terrorist in Beirut,” the military said. AFPTV showed smoke rising from the southern Beirut district of Dahiyeh, a stronghold of Hezbollah.

Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said on X that Iran-backed Hezbollah’s chief was now “a marked target for elimination”.

Israeli military boosts presence near Lebanon border

Israel ​has bolstered its military ‌presence on its ​side ⁠of the border with Lebanon but there are ‌no immediate plans for ‌a ground ‌invasion ⁠of its neighbour, ⁠Israeli military spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani ​said.

“We haven’t expanded our presence on the ground ‌inside Lebanon,” he ​told an online news briefing.

Earlier, ⁠Brigadier General Effie Defrin, another ‌Israeli military spokesperson, told reporters that all options remained on the table when ‌asked about the ​prospects of a ground invasion of ⁠Lebanon after Hezbollah ⁠launched rockets at Israel.

(With inputs from Reuters)