Top Hezbollah commander Ibrahim killed in Israeli strike

A top Hezbollah military commander was killed in an Israeli air strike on the Lebanese capital Beirut on Friday, in a major escalation that has added to fears of an all-out war.

Hezbollah confirmed Ibrahim Aqil's death after Israel said he was one of several senior Hezbollah figures killed in the strike, reports BBC.

Ibrahim had a $7-million bounty on his head from the United States over his link to the deadly bombing of Marines in Lebanon in 1983, according to the US State Department website.

Earlier, Lebanese officials said at least 14 people were killed and dozens injured in the strike that hit the densely populated Dahieh area, a stronghold of the Iran-backed group in the city’s southern suburbs.

A senior UN official has warned that the Middle East is at risk of a conflict that could "dwarf" the devastation witnessed in the region so far.

Political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo was speaking at a session of the Security Council following this week's attacks which saw Hezbollah's pagers and walkie-talkies explode, killing at least 37 people.

In Beirut, there were chaotic scenes as emergency teams rushed to the site of the attack, rescuing the wounded and searching for people believed to be trapped under the rubble. At least one residential building collapsed and others were heavily damaged.

Streets were closed by Hezbollah members, some looking incredulous as the attack represented another humiliating blow in a week which saw pagers and walkie-talkies belonging to the group explode.

Dozens were killed and thousands wounded in those attacks, widely believed to be orchestrated by Israel.

Friday's strike was the first to hit Beirut since July, when Hezbollah’s military chief Fuad Shukr was killed.