Hezbollah Spokesman Killed In Rare Israeli Airstrike On Central Beirut: Official

Hezbollah's chief spokesman was assassinated Sunday during a rare Israeli airstrike on central Beirut that marked the latest targeted killing of a high-level militant.

Mohammed Afif died in an attack against the socialist Baath party's headquarters, the Associated Press reported, citing a Hezbollah official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Israeli strike near a busy intersection marked the first in central Beirut since October 10, when 22 people were killed at two locations, AP said.

Israel didn't issue an evacuation warning before Sunday's bombing, and witness Suheil Halabi described the chaos that ensued as survivors ran away in terror.

"I was asleep and awoke from the sound of the strike, and people screaming, and cars and gunfire," Halabi said. "I was startled, honestly. This is the first time I experienced it so close."

An AP photographer saw four bodies and four wounded people at the scene but there was no official casualty count.

Afif, head of media relations for Hezbollah, became a high-profile figure after an all-out war between the militant group and Israel erupted in September.

Last month, he hastily ended a news conference in Beirut before Israeli strikes, AP said.

Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones into Israel one day after Hamas militants in Gaza sparked the latest Mideast war with a series of surprise attacks October 7, 2023.

Israel retaliated against Hezbollah with airstrikes, and the conflict escalated into open warfare in September, with Israeli forces invading Lebanon last month.

The death toll in Israel is at least 76, including 31 soldiers, and more than 3,400 people have been killed in Lebanon, but officials there haven't said how many were Hezbollah fighters, according to AP.