Israel has reportedly conducted an airstrike in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, targeting a senior commander of Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group. According to Israeli military sources, the alleged target was identified as Muhsin Shukr, a commander within Hezbollah. A loud explosion was heard, and a plume of smoke was seen rising over the southern suburbs—an area strongly associated with the group—on Tuesday evening.

The Lebanese state news agency reported that the Israeli airstrike hit the area around Hezbollah’s Shura Council in the neighborhood of Haret Hreik. Reports indicate that at least one person was killed in the attack. Al Jazeera journalist Zeina Khodr, reporting from Haret Hreik, mentioned that Hezbollah sources have stated Shukr survived the attack.

Prior to the strike, the Israeli military had announced it had conducted “a targeted attack in Beirut on the commander responsible for the murder of the children in Majdal Shams and the killing of several other Israeli civilians.” Last week, at least 12 people, including children, were killed in a rocket attack on Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. However, Hezbollah denied responsibility for the assault, although Israel and the United States have blamed the group.

Khodr remarked that the Tuesday attack appears to be the promised retaliation from the Israeli military against Hezbollah. “Lebanon was preparing for this response, but earlier in the day, a senior Hezbollah official stated that regardless of the type of attack Israel carries out, Hezbollah would respond,” she added.

This attack marks the first airstrike in Beirut since January, when an air raid killed high-ranking Hamas officer Saleh Arouri. It also represents the first time Israel has struck Beirut since the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah in the summer of 2006.

White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre stated that the United States does not believe a war between Hezbollah and Israel is inevitable. “Hezbollah wants to ensure that they do not lose their deterrence. This is why Israel is not engaging deeper in the war against Hezbollah beyond a certain number of kilometers around the border,” according to Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst Marwan Bishara.

Hezbollah has previously asserted that any attacks deeper into their territory would mean that “all rules of war” would be negated. “This means that Hezbollah would not adhere to any of the rules of war if Israel decides, as they did just now, to strike a residential building in the Lebanese capital or south of it,” he continued. “Thus, Hezbollah will likely have to respond in a manner that prevents Israel from further penetrating deep into Lebanon.”