A Hezbollah official was the target of an Israeli strike on a building in a Christian area east of Beirut last week, where he regularly visited a romantic partner, a judicial source told AFP on Wednesday.The man escaped the strike on Ain Saadeh that killed three residents on Sunday, including a local official from the Lebanese Forces, a Christian party that is strongly opposed to Hezbollah, along with his wife and his neighbour.
The judicial source, who requested anonymity, told AFP that the man was a "Hezbollah official" who was in "a romantic relationship with a woman residing in the targeted building and would visit the location briefly every day".
The woman gave her testimony to investigators, the source said, and "provided the man's name and description, which helped confirm his identity," noting that the investigation indicated he "is a Hezbollah official".
Israel's military had said it struck a "terrorist target" east of Beirut, and was reviewing the incident after "reports of casualties among Lebanese civilians".
During its ongoing war with Iran-backed Hezbollah, a Shia movement, Israel's attacks in majority-Christian and Sunni areas have stoked fear and division in a country where sectarian tensions have previously ended in bloodshed.
