Israel has struck Lebanon’s capital Beirut for the first time since June, saying it targeted Hezbollah’s chief of staff and warning the Iran-backed militant group not to rearm and rebuild.

The strike on Sunday, launched almost a year after a ceasefire ended the latest Israel-Hezbollah war, threatened a wider conflict just days before Pope Leo is scheduled to visit Lebanon.

“We will continue to act forcefully to prevent any threat to the residents of the north and the state of Israel,” Israeli defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.

Government spokesman Shosh Bedrosian did not say whether Israel informed the US before the strike, saying only that “Israel makes decisions independently”.

The strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs killed at least one person and wounded 21 others, Le

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