MOSCOW, September 20. /TASS/. Israel carried out a strike at Lebanon’s capital city of Beirut. The attack took place amid an escalation of the situation on the Lebanese-Israeli border, which followed after a wave of detonation of thousands of Hezbollah communication devices in Lebanon. The Shia movement and the Lebanese authorities blamed Israel for this.

The IDF has also intensified the hostilities in the northern direction and started carrying out massive airstrikes at Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon.

Here are the key points about the situation in the region.

Strikes from Lebanon

- The Hezbollah Shia militia fired MLRS systems at Israeli bases in Upper Galilee and Golan Heights. Over 130 rockets were fired.

- According to the IDF, the military registered launches of about 140 munitions from Lebanon; northern regions of Israel were subjected to massive strikes.

The Israeli strike at Beirut

- The IDF claimed it carried out a "precision strike" at Beirut.

- According to the Lebanese Health Ministry, 12 people were killed and 66 got injured by the Israeli airstrike.

- According to the Al Qahera TV channel, two residential buildings were destroyed. Hezbollah field commander Ibrahim Akil is said to be the target.

- Rescue teams are searching for people that may remain under the debris.

- According to Al Jazeera, the strike targeted a command post, where Shia commanders had a meeting; Akil was reportedly killed in the attack.

- According to Al Wataniya, the targeted city area is cordoned off by Hezbollah activists and Lebanese servicemen. Five children were killed in the attack. The fires have been extinguished by civil defense rescue teams.

Strikes at southern parts of Lebanon

- The Israeli Air Force also carried out a new series of strikes at Hezbollah targets in six areas in southern Lebanon. In addition, the Israeli artillery shelled "a number of areas across southern Lebanon," the IDF press office said.

International reaction

- Russia is deeply concerned over the developments in Lebanon, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

- Israel had not notified Washington about its intent to carry out a strike at Beirut, according to White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby. He underscored that the US "continues to make diplomatic efforts" in order to settle the situation in the Middle East.

Aftermath of mass detonation of communication devices

- After the mass detonation of pagers, Hezbollah suspected that other devices could also have been compromised and initiated a scrupulous inspection of all electronic devices, but was unable to complete it before the mass detonation of portable radios on September 18, according to Reuters.

- The Iranian Ambassador to Beirut Mojtaba Amani noted that pagers were also used by hospital and kindergarten employees to receive air raid alarms. Amani himself was also injured by the detonation.

- The operation on mass detonation of communication devices in Lebanon, attributed to Israel, "might start a more decisive war in Lebanon," former Mossad chief Danny Yatom told the Washington Post.