Hezbollah Leader Escapes Assassination As Israeli Strikes Kill 22 in Beirut

Israeli airstrikes killed 22 people and injured more than 129  in central Beirut on Thursday.

But a senior Hezbollah leader managed to escape an Israeli assassination attempt in Beirut.

Wafiq Safa, who heads Hezbollah’s liaison and coordination unit responsible for working with Lebanese security agencies, was targeted by Israel on Thursday night but he survived, the security sources said.

After Israel killed a series of high-ranking Hezbollah officials in recent weeks, including top leader Hassan Nasrallah, Safa was among the few surviving senior figures as the group’s upper echelons struggled to reorganise.

In south Lebanon, two United Nations peacekeepers were injured when an Israeli tank fired at a watchtower at the force’s main headquarters in Ras al-Naqoura.

Israel bombing Beirut and other parts of Lebanon have killed many of Hezbollah’s top leaders.