Hello and welcome to Newsar from the BBC World Service coming to you live from our

studios in Central London I'm Julian Marshall and we're devoting a lot of the program today to the intensifying conflict between Israel

and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which has certainly ratcheted it up this week

following Israel's announcement that it was to start a new phase of the war.

There were two days of exploding communications devices owned by Hezbollah militants in Lebanon with dozens killed and thousands

injured among them children. The two sides have stepped up their exchanges of

fire across the Lebanon border. Israel says it's hit more than a hundred Hezbollah

rocket launchers while Hezbollah has fired dozens of rockets into northern Israel

and Israel has once again carried out an air strike on the Lebanese capital Beirut,

killing it says the head of an elite Hezbollah unit and other commanders.

At a news briefing, the chief spokesman of the Israel Defence Forces, Daniel Hagari, gave details of the attack.

Today, the IDF conducted a targeted strike in Beirut on senior terrorist Ibrahim

Kiel, the head of Kizbala's operations and the commander of Kizbala's

elite Radwan forces.

I can now confirm that Ibrahim Akil

was eliminated together with other senior terrorists

in His Balas Radwan forces.

Of the chief spokesman of the Israel Defence Forces Daniel Hagarian.

A short while ago I spoke to the BBC's Uga Bachega in Beirut.

I was in Tahir earlier today near the site of this attack.

This is an area of Beirut that is a stronghold of Hezbollah. So again an Israeli attack targeting

senior members of the group in the command center here in the capital.

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