Hezbollah spokesman Afif was killed in an Israeli strike in Beirut

Hezbollah’s media chief Mohammed Afif was killed in an Israeli strike in central Beirut, the Lebanese army said.

The strike hit the headquarters of the Baath political party in the residential area of ​​Ras al-Naba on Sunday, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.

The Department of Health in the country said four people died, but did not name the dead.

Afif, who is one of the few players left in the team, was last seen on Monday, when he held a press conference in areas south of Beirut, where the team is based.

Hezbollah confirmed the death on Sunday evening, hours after it was first reported.

Most of the headquarters of the Lebanese branch of the Syrian Baath party was destroyed in the strike, as rescue and defense teams rushed to help several people who were trapped under the rubble, the National News Agency reported.

The Department of Health said that 14 people were injured as well as the four who died.

The Lebanese Baath Party is a branch of the Syrian Baath Party, led by President Bashar Al-Assad, and a long-time ally of Hezbollah.

Its Lebanese headquarters are located in a busy central area that connects west and east Beirut with the city center and the airport road, which passes through the southern suburbs.

BBC Middle East spokesperson Lina Sinjab said the incident had raised concerns that Israel was escalating attacks beyond Hezbollah military officials. Hezbollah is also a political party with representatives in parliament and ministers in the government.

“That sends fear to the people, that there are no signs of easing the situation or finding a solution, but rather the increase and expansion of Israel’s objectives against Hezbollah in Lebanon,” he told the BBC news channel.

Later on Sunday, another strike in central Beirut on Mar Elias Street killed two people and injured 13 others, the Lebanese Ministry of Health said.

The BBC contacted the IDF about a second strike in central Beirut.

Earlier on Sunday, the IDF said it had struck six areas targeted by Hezbollah fighters in the southern areas.

In the past week, the Israeli army has stepped up its offensive in Beirut, amid renewed US-led efforts to end the war.

Israel has already killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and other top commanders and senior officials in a strike in Beirut in late September, when Israel began attacking the Iran-backed group.

Israel has said it wants to repatriate tens of thousands of civilians who were displaced in the country’s north a year after Hezbollah launched rocket attacks in support of the Palestinians after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.

In addition to 3,400 people have been killed in Lebanon since then, including at least 2,600 since Israel launched a heavy air campaign followed by a ground attack in the south in late September, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.

Another 1.2 million people have been displaced.