The Israeli army said on Monday that it had launched an air strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut in Lebanon, while Israeli military sources reported that the target was Hezbollah leader Ali Karaki.

The army said in a brief statement via the "X" platform: "We are now launching a targeted and specific attack on Beirut. More details later."

In turn, the Israeli Army Radio quoted Israeli military sources as saying: "The target of the attack on Beirut was Hezbollah leader Ali Karaki."

The sources added that "Ali Karaki, the commander of Hezbollah's southern front, is the most prominent military figure remaining in Hezbollah after the assassination of Fouad Shukr (last July) and Ibrahim Aqil (last week), and he is the one who supervised all of Hezbollah's movements against the Israeli army and the towns of northern Israel during all the months of the war."

The radio did not mention details about Karaki's fate, while Hezbollah did not issue an immediate comment on the matter until 16:00 (GMT).

The targeting of Beirut coincides with an intense Israeli bombardment of southern Lebanon, the most violent since October 8, as the Lebanese Ministry of Health announced on Monday the killing of 274 people, including children, women and paramedics, and the injury of more than a thousand, as a result of the Israeli raids that targeted the east and south of the country, in an incomplete toll.

Since Monday morning, the Israeli army has launched the "most violent, extensive and intensive" attack on Lebanon since the beginning of the confrontations with Hezbollah about a year ago, while army spokesman Daniel Hagari announced in a press conference that Tel Aviv will target the depth of the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon.

In contrast, sirens continue to sound in Israeli settlements near the border with Lebanon, after Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets at military sites and settlements.