J086-LIBANO ATAQUE ISRAELI EN BEIRUT

An Israeli strike hit a building in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital on Thursday (May 28), the first strike to hit near Beirut in weeks amid a ceasefire that has failed to halt fighting between Israeli troops and Hezbollah in south Lebanon.

The Israeli military said it had conducted a precise strike in Beirut but did not offer additional details.

Two Israeli security sources said the target was Ali al-Husseini, whom they described as head of the missile division within the Imam Hussein Division, a militia that Israeli officials say is aligned with Hezbollah and Iran.

There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah or Iran on the attack. A Lebanese security source said it was carried out with two precision missiles targeting a building in Beirut's southern suburbs.

The strike dealt another blow to a fraying ceasefire announced by Washington on April 16 that was meant to halt the war raging between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah since March 2.

Exchanges of fire between the two longtime foes have continued, but have been mostly concentrated in southern Lebanon. Apart from a strike on Beirut's southern suburbs in early May that killed a Hezbollah commander, the capital and its suburbs had been spared new bombardment during the truce.