Israel Strikes Hezbollah Targets As U.S. Warns Against Gaza-Like Destruction

Explosion in Beirut after Israeli strike on October 7

The Israeli military on October 10 said it had eliminated another important Hezbollah member as it kept up its attacks against the Iran-backed group.

Adham Jahout, a member of Hezbollah's "Golan Terrorist Network" was killed in an air strike in the area of Quneitra in Syria, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said.

Jahout was relaying intelligence from Syrian regime sources to Hezbollah and facilitating operations against Israel in the Golan Heights, the IDF said.

Israel annexed the Golan Heights after capturing them from Syria during the 1967 Middle East war. The annexation has not been recognized by most countries.

Separately, the Israeli military said on October 10 that it had eliminated two Hezbollah commanders in southern Lebanon and its warplanes attacked munitions depots in the Beirut area and in southern Lebanon. It did not immediately reveal the identities of the two commanders.

Hezbollah, a militant group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon, is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, while the European Union blacklists its armed wing but not its party, which has seats in the Lebanese parliament.

The latest strikes came as the United States, Israel's main ally, warned against bombardments in Lebanon similar to those that caused large-scale destruction in Gaza as Israel retaliated against Hamas following the U.S.- and EU-designated terrorist group's deadly attack on Israel that left more than 1,100 people dead.

Israel's bombardment of central and northern Gaza in recent days has killed dozens of people and trapped thousands in their homes, Palestinian officials say.

SEE ALSO: Palestinians Count The Toll Of Israel's Devastating War In Gaza

"There should be no kind of military action in Lebanon that looks anything like Gaza and leaves a result anything like Gaza," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told journalists on October 9.

The warning came after U.S. President Joe Biden emphasized in a call on October 9 with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the need for a diplomatic arrangement for the return of both Lebanese and Israeli civilians to their homes on both sides of the border.

Biden also condemned Iran's ballistic-missile attack on Israel on October 1, a White House statement said.

Biden "affirmed Israel's right to protect its citizens from Hezbollah, which has fired thousands of missiles and rockets into Israel over the past year alone, while emphasizing the need to minimize harm to civilians, in particular in the densely populated areas of Beirut," the statement said.

Biden spoke with Netanyahu earlier about Israel's plans to retaliate against Iran for a missile attack last week, according to statements from both the White House and the Israeli prime minister's office on October 9.

The White House statement said Biden and Netanyahu "agreed to remain in close contact over the coming days both directly and through their national security teams."

The call comes amid escalating tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, an armed group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon.

SEE ALSO: Would An All-Out Israel-Iran War Send Oil Prices Skyrocketing?

The Middle East has been on edge awaiting Israel's expected response to Iran's largely ineffective missile attack, which Tehran carried out in retaliation for Israel's escalation in Lebanon, including the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Biden last week said he would not support Israel striking Iranian nuclear sites as part of its retaliation. He also said that, if he were in Israel's shoes, he would think about alternatives to striking Iranian oil fields.

Israel has faced calls by the United States and other allies to accept a cease-fire deal in Gaza and Lebanon but has said it will continue its military operations until Israelis are safe.