Israel targets Hezbollah chief in first strike on Beirut in months

An apartment building was damaged during an Israeli air strike on Dahiyeh, southern Beirut, on Sunday (Bilal Hussein/AP)

Israel has struck Lebanon’s capital Beirut for the first time since June, saying it targeted Hezbollah’s chief of staff and warning the Iran-backed militant group not to rearm and rebuild.

The strike on Sunday, launched almost a year after a ceasefire ended the latest Israel-Hezbollah war, threatened a wider conflict just days before Pope Leo is scheduled to visit Lebanon.