BEIRUT, Sept 21 (BBC): An Israeli airstrike on a residential area of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, has killed two top Hezbollah military commanders and other senior officials, in a major escalation that has added to fears of an all-out war.
Hezbollah has confirmed its senior commanders Ibrahim Aqil and Ahmed Wahbi were both killed in a strike on the Lebanese capital Beirut on Friday, which killed at least 31 people, including three children.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the strike targeted the Iran-backed group's elite Radwan unit.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk told a security council meeting that the pager and walkie-talkie explosions this week in Lebanon, which killed 37 people, violated international humanitarian law.
Senior UN official Rosemary DiCarlo warned that the Middle East was at risk of a conflict that could "dwarf" the devastation witnessed in the region so far.
Friday's attack was another major blow for Hezbollah and the first airstrike to hit Beirut since July, when Fuad Shukr, a right-hand man to leader Hassan Nasrallah, was killed.
It happened just days after a wave of explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies used by the group that killed dozens, wounded thousands more and caused panic in a country already exhausted by almost one year of conflict.
Israel is widely believed to have been behind the attack, but has made no comment.
In Beirut, there were chaotic scenes as emergency teams rushed to the site of the attack on Friday, rescuing the wounded and searching for people believed to be trapped under the rubble.
At least one residential building collapsed and others were heavily damaged. Streets were closed by Hezbollah members, some looking incredulous.
The Lebanese health ministry said at least 31 people were killed in the attack - including three children and seven women - with dozens more wounded.
In a statement, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Daniel Hagari said Aqil, a senior commander in Hezbollah's elite Radwan forces, was killed alongside senior operatives in the group's operations staff and other Radwan commanders.
