Welcome to the news hour. For nearly a year the US has tried to prevent the war in

Gaza from expanding. But tonight there are new concerns of escalation. After an

Israeli airstrike killed atop Hezbollah commander following earlier

unprecedented attacks on the militant group's communications network

and all more than 35 in Lebanon have died. Thousands have been wounded and tensions along the shared border and Israel has promised a new phase of the war and is delivering it in southern Beirut,

where today an airstrike destroyed an entire residential building, and Israel said it killed

Ibrahim Akil, commander of Hezbollah's special forces, and about 10 of his soldiers.

Earlier this week, Israel's infiltration of Hezbollah's communication network,

Turned Hezbollah walkie talkies and pagers into bombs and israel launched one of its

largest bombing campaigns yet targeting Hezbollah rockets.

Thousands of Hezbollah rank and file are injured.

The group is in disorder and after today's strike without a member of its leadership council.

At the time of the strike, Akil and the commanders of the Radwan forces were gathered underground

under a residential building in the heart of the Dhaka in Beirut.

Hiding among Lebanese civilians, using them as human shields.

They were in the middle of planning more terror attacks against Israeli civilians.

Akil was wanted by the US for the 1980s. terror attacks against Israeli civilians.

Akil was wanted by the US for the 1983 attacks on the Beirut embassy

by Hezbollah's predecessor Islamic jihad organization and the Marine Corps Barracks

attack that killed nearly 300.

Israel says it's trying to return 60,000 displaced from now empty cities in the north

and does not want a regional escalation.

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