Israeli said on Friday that it had killed the Hezbollah’s elite Radwan unit chief during “a targeted strike” on the Lebanese capital of Beirut.

The Israeli military said the attack also killed close to a dozen more senior Hezbollah commanders, claiming that the strike was meant to “protect the citizens of Israel.”

Ibrahim Aqil was one of the principal members of Hezbollah’s Islamic Jihad Organization, which was behind the 1983 US Embassy in Beirut bombing and the US Marine Barracks bombing later that year.

Friday’s strike was the third blamed on or claimed by Israel to hit the southern suburbs of Beirut since October, when Hezbollah began cross-border clashes with Israel in support of Palestinian militants Hamas over the Gaza war.

The US said it was unaware of any prior notification from Israel and had nothing to do with the operation. Sources familiar with the conversations said US military officials, particularly at the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), were briefed on the Israeli attack against Hezbollah targets today after it was conducted and not notified beforehand.

The latest strike came days after deadly sabotage attacks on Hezbollah’s communications devices sent tensions soaring.

Lebanon’s health ministry said at least 12 were killed and 66 wounded in the strike.

Hezbollah’s al-Manar television broadcast live footage from the scene of the attack that showed ambulances rushing to the area and transporting injured people on stretchers.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported “an enemy raid targeting an apartment in a residential building in the al-Jamous area of the southern suburb” of Beirut.

The previous strikes on south Beirut killed Shukr on July 30 and Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri on January 2.