Israel says Beirut strike targeted Iranian Quds Force commanders

At least four people were killed when an Israeli strike hit an apartment in the Ramada hotel building in central Beirut early on Sunday, with Israel saying the attack targeted Iranian commanders operating in the Lebanese capital.

The Israeli military said it was targeting commanders from the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force who it said were operating in Lebanon to plan attacks against Israel while also coordinating with the IRGC in Iran.

“The commanders of the Quds Force's Lebanon Corps operated to advance terror attacks against the state of Israel and its civilians, while operating simultaneously for the IRGC in Iran,” the military said in a statement.

Later in the day, sources cited by Saudi-owned Al Hadath said five Iranian members of the Lebanon branch of the Quds Force were assassinated in the strike.

The sources identified the dead as Majid Hosseini, the financial officer of the Lebanon branch of the Quds Force; Ali Biazaar, its intelligence officer; Hossein Ahmadlou, head of what they described as the branch’s “Zionist file”; and Ahmad Rasouli, head of the Intelligence Department in the Palestine Corps.

Lebanon’s health ministry said 10 people were injured in the strike in Beirut’s Raouche district. The attack hit a corner suite on the fourth floor of the hotel building, shattering windows and blackening the facade, according to Reuters.