May 6 (Reuters) - The Israeli military carried out a strike on Wednesday on the southern suburbs of Beirut in a Hezbollah stronghold known as Dahiyeh, targeting the commander of the militant group's elite Radwan force, according to an official Israeli statement.

The strike was the first to hit Beirut's suburbs since the April 16 ceasefire, although hostilities in the south of Lebanon have not halted.

"Radwan operatives, led by this commander, were responsible for firing at Israeli communities and harming IDF soldiers," a joint statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said.

(Reporting by Laila Bassam and Pesha Magid;Editing by Alison Williams)