A senior official from Hezbollah survived an assassination attempt by Israel on Thursday in Beirut, according to security sources reported by Reuters. This attack was part of a series of Israeli airstrikes that resulted in 22 deaths, escalating the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which is supported by Iran.

The chief of Hezbollah's liaison and coordination unit, Wafiq Safa, was the target of an attempted assassination by Israel. However, Safa managed to survive and is alive. According to Hezbollah's Al Manar TV, Safa was not inside the targeted buildings when the strikes occurred. It also verified the failure of the assassination attempt.

The attack coincided with Hezbollah's numerous rocket strikes against Israeli cities and towns and troops' ongoing raids on villages in southern Lebanon. Two of the UNIFIL soldiers in Lebanon suffered injuries in an Israeli attack on the force's main base of operations in Ras al-Naqoura, according to the organization.

In recent weeks, Israel has eliminated a number of senior Hezbollah leaders, including the organisation's chief leader, Hassan Nasrallah. Safa was one of the few senior figures still in the group, who were responsible for combining security with political matters. According to reports, Safa led the negotiations that resulted in a 2008 agreement whereby Hezbollah traded Lebanese prisoners held in Israel for the bodies of Israeli soldiers captured in 2006. The incident in 2006 set off a 34-day conflict with Israel.

On Thursday at the force's main headquarters in Ras al-Naqoura, an Israeli tank fired at a watchtower, striking the tower and sending the peacekeepers falling. According to UN Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL), two of its personnel were injured. Two other incidents resulted in no casualties, according to Reuters, which cited a UN source.