A loud explosion in the Dahiyeh suburb of southern Lebanon rattled local residents.
People took to the streets as a building was destroyed by an air attack, killing at least one person and leaving several others injured.
Israeli military spokesman rear admiral Daniel Hagari says his nation's military was responsible for the assault.
He says the target was one of the Hezbollah military leaders.
"This evening, the IDF carried out a targeted strike in Beirut on Fouad Shukur, also known as Sayyed Mohsen, Hezbollah's most senior military commander and the head of its strategic unit. Fouad Shukur was the right hand man to Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's leader and his adviser in planning and directing attacks and operations."
The attack comes a few days after an assault on a small town in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, which killed 12 children and teenagers.
Rear Admiral Hagari says the Israeli military had intelligence that led them to believe that the Hezbollah commander they were targeting was in charge of that attack.
"Fouad Shukur was the commander responsible for the Majdal Shams massacre in which 12 children were murdered after Hezbollah fired an Iranian Falaq-1 rocket directly at a soccer field in northern Israel on Saturday evening. He was a senior terrorist who has the blood of the Israelis and many others on his hands."
In a post on social media platform X, Lebanese prime minister Najib Mikati has condemned the Israeli attack as a blatant act of aggression.
Israeli officials have claimed they were successful in their attempts to strike down the Hezbollah chief in the attack.
However, that information remains unconfirmed.
SBS Arabic24's Beirut correspondent, Antoine Salameh, says the military group has been tight-lipped on the situation of its commander.
"It has not yet been announced by Hezbollah that Fouad Shukr has been killed, although sources have confirmed his death. The targeting operation was carried out while awaiting a statement from Hezbollah, which will serve as a basis for any future developments that may occur."
It comes during a period of heightened tension between Israel and Hezbollah, amid fears by the global community that the situation could lead to a broader war in the Middle East.
The Lebanese military group has been striking at Israel's northern border for a while now to show their solidarity with Hamas.
However, these last two incidents have pushed things even further.
The United Nations' spokesman Stephane Dujarric says they are attempting to intervene and calm the situation before it grows out of control.
"Right now also, we have Jean-Pierre Lacroix (U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations), who is in Lebanon on a pre-scheduled visit. He will be meeting with Lebanese leaders, Lebanese Armed Forces, to discuss UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon). And just prior to that, he was also in the UNDOF (United Nations Disengagement Observer Force) area of operation and everyone is passing on the same messages."
United States vice president Kamala Harris says her country is also in favour of a diplomatic solution, but supports Israel's right to defend itself.
"I want to address what's happened over the last few hours in terms of the Middle East, and be very clear Israel has a right to defend itself and I unequivocally support Israel’s right to remain secure and to defend the security of Israel. What we know, in particular, is it has the right to defend itself against the terrorist organisation, which is exactly what Hezbollah is. But all of that being said, we still must work on a diplomatic solution to end these attacks."
But sentiment among Israelis doesn't universally support the government's actions.
Citizens in Tel Aviv have described the assault on Beirut as unnecessary, saying they fear the tit-for-tat attacks could lead to a wider conflict that would embroil the entire nation.
Others say it could jeopardise the ongoing negotiations for the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas.
58-year-old teacher Hana Menashe Geangean says she feels stressed about the ongoing cycle of violence.
"I feel a little bit stressed because I don't know what is going to happen as a result of it. I do understand that Israel needs to respond to what has happened in the north, but at the same time, I am not sure that if we continue the circle of war, it will end the the situation, the conflict. I really hope that the Israelis and and the other side will reach an agreement because we lose a lot of a lot of life. And I I'm very, very scared because I know at the same time that there are a lot of people in the in the north that are living as refugees in their own country now. And it's difficult to continue like that."
Australia's federal government has already issued a warning for any of its citizens in Lebanon to leave as soon as possible and said it isn't safe for anyone to travel to the region.
