Israel strikes on Beirut: 37 killed, including children. Top Hezbollah leader among those killed [Video]

BEIRUT, Lebanon –

Israel and Hezbollah exchanged fire on Saturday as rescue crews in Beirut searched the rubble of an apartment building that was leveled by an Israeli airstrike that killed at least 37 people, including one of the militant group’s senior leaders as well as women and children.

The Israeli government braced for an expected surge in Hezbollah rocket attacks by setting new caps on the size of gatherings and other restrictions in the north of the country, near Israel’s border with Lebanon, that led to schools in some communities canceling classes on Sunday.

The airstrike Friday took down an eight-story building in a densely populated neighborhood in southern Beirut as Hezbollah members were meeting in the basement, according to Israel. Among those killed was Ibrahim Akil, a top Hezbollah official who commanded the group’s special forces unit the Radwan Force. Also killed was Ahmed Wahbi, a top commander in the group’s …