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”. Also read | Iran-Israel conflict LIVE updates“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. “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.

Source: The Hindu March 02, 2026 10:20 UTC