"The head of Hezbollah's security apparatus, Wafiq Safa, was targeted," a source close to the Lebanese group said, requesting anonymity to discuss the matter.
Safa was close to Hezbollah's late leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli strike on south Beirut last month that also toppled at least 6 residential buildings.
There has been no official confirmation from either Hezbollah or Israel that Safa was targeted in the attack that Lebanon's health ministry said killed at least 22 people and injured more than 117.
Israel and Hezbollah have been at war since September 23, when Israel intensified strikes on south Lebanon, including Beirut's southern suburbs.
Thursday's raid was the third such attack on central Beirut since then. It was also its deadliest.
The Israeli assault, which has also seen Israel invade south Lebanon, has killed more than 1,200 people, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese health ministry figures, and displaced more than a million people.
'No safe place left'
Lebanon on Friday condemned an Israeli attack that it said wounded United Nations peacekeepers in the country's south, after state media reported a second such attack in as many days.
On Thursday, the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, UNIFIL, said Israeli fire on their headquarters in south Lebanon left two Blue Helmets injured.
In central Beirut, AFPTV footage showed two plumes of smoke billowing from densely packed buildings after Thursday's deadly strike, with people seen scouring the rubble.
Residents, some weeping, checked their homes and asked for news of neighbours, with one saying his wife was in intensive care.
"There are a lot of families living here," many displaced from south Lebanon and who have relatives in the neighbourhood, said Bilal Othman.
"Do they (Israel) want to tell us there is no safe place left in this country?"
'Prevent broader conflict'
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced hope Friday for a diplomatic solution in Lebanon and averting a broader conflict.
"We continue to engage intensely to prevent broader conflict in the region," Blinken said.
The Israeli assault on Lebanon was sparked by Hezbollah's cross-border fire into Israel in support of Palestinians suffering under Israel's war on Gaza that has killed tens of thousands.
Despite the heavy toll on civilians, Israel has vowed to step up its Gaza assault frequently targeting displaced people sheltering in schools, hospitals and places of worship.
UN peacekeepers
The role of UN peacekeepers stationed at Lebanon's border has come into focus during the latest escalation, particularly after Israeli forces repeatedly targeted their positions and wounded two of their members on Thursday.
The UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon had weeks earlier refused orders from Israel to relocate its peacekeepers, stationed near the Lebanese border, just days before Israel launched its ground invasion of the country.
Israel has also promised to retaliate against Iran's missile attack last week, which Tehran said was in response to the assassination of two of its closest allies: Hezbollah leader Nasrallah and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, along with an Iranian general.
Israel has previously bombed Iran's consulate in Syria, and Hamas leader Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran while attending the inauguration of Iran's new president.
Iran's permanent representative to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, told the UN Security Council that his country was "fully prepared to defend its sovereignty" if attacked.
Biden has cautioned Israel against attempting to target Iran's nuclear facilities and opposes striking oil installations.
"I don't think we are currently in a situation that the two countries are seeking an all-out direct war," Hamid, a 29-year-old university student in Tehran, told AFP.
"It will have severe economic and military consequences" for both countries, he added.
*This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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