Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes in Beirut, seen from Baabda, on Friday.
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BEIRUT — The Israeli military on Friday said it attacked Hezbollah’s central headquarters in Beirut, where a series of massive explosions leveled several buildings and sent orange and black smoke billowing into the sky in The largest explosion to hit the Lebanese capital in the past year.
Three major Israeli television channels said Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was the target of attacks in the southern suburbs of Beirut. The unsourced reports could not immediately be confirmed by The Associated Press and the military declined to comment. But given the scale and timing of the explosion, there are clear signs that a senior leader may have been inside the attacked building.
In a further sign of the strike’s significance, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly cut short a visit to the United States and returned home instead of waiting until the end of the Sabbath on Saturday night, his office said. . Hours earlier, Netanyahu spoke at the United Nations, vowing that Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah would continue – further dimming hopes of an internationally backed ceasefire.
News of the explosion came as Netanyahu was briefing reporters traveling with him. A military aide whispered in his ear, and Netanyahu quickly ended the meeting.
To a degree never seen in past conflicts, Israel over the past week has aimed to eliminate Hezbollah’s senior leadership. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s office said he held talks with the head of the Israeli air force and other top commanders at army headquarters, following the update.
Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the attacks targeted Hezbollah’s headquarters, located underneath residential buildings. According to the Lebanese national news agency, six buildings in the Haret Hreik area of Dahiyeh were reduced to rubble. The explosion rattled windows and shook houses about 30 kilometers north of Beirut. An ambulance was seen approaching the scene, sirens blaring.
Officials at a nearby hospital said they had received at least 10 injured people, three in critical condition, including a Syrian child.
The Pentagon said Friday that the United States had no advance warning of the violent attacks in Beirut.
Israel has significantly stepped up air strikes on Lebanon this week, saying it is determined to end more than 11 months of Hezbollah fire on its territory. The scope of Israel’s operation remains unclear, but officials say a ground invasion to push the militant group away from the border is possible. Israel has dispatched thousands of soldiers to the border to prepare.
Health Minister Firass Abiad said at least 25 people were killed in Israeli attacks early Friday morning, bringing the death toll in Lebanon this week to more than 720. He said those killed included dozens of women and children.
An attack early Friday in the majority-Sunni border town of Chebaa hit a house, killing nine members of the same family, the state news agency said. A resident identified the dead as Hussein Zahra, his wife Ratiba, their five children and two grandchildren.
At the United Nations, Netanyahu vowed to “continue to weaken Hezbollah” until Israel achieves its goals.
Netanyahu’s comments dampened hopes for a US-backed call for a 21-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah to allow time for a diplomatic solution. Hezbollah has not yet responded to this proposal.
Iran-backed Hezbollah, the most powerful armed force in Lebanon, began firing rockets at Israel almost immediately after the October 7 attack by Hamas, saying it was a show of support for Israel. with the Palestinians. Since then, Israel and the Israeli army have exchanged gunfire almost daily, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes on both sides of the border.
An Israeli security official said he expected a possible war against Hezbollah would not last as long as the current war in Gaza, because the Israeli military’s goals are much narrower.
In Gaza, Israel has vowed to dismantle the military and political regime of Hamas, but the goal in Lebanon is only to push Hezbollah away from the border with Israel – “not as high a standard as Gaza” in terms of goals. operations, the official said. , who spoke on condition of anonymity due to military briefing guidelines.
The Israeli army said it carried out dozens of attacks over the course of two hours around the south on Friday, including the cities of Sidon and Nabatiyeh. They said they were targeting rocket launchers and Hezbollah infrastructure. It said Hezbollah fired a barrage of rockets toward the northern Israeli city of Tiberias.
In the southern Lebanese city of Tire, civil defense workers pulled the bodies of two women – Hiba Ataya, 35, and her mother Sabah Olyan – from the rubble of a building that collapsed after a strike. “It’s Sabah, these are her clothes, my love,” a man cried when her body appeared.
Israel says its accelerated attacks this week have severely damaged Hezbollah’s weapons capabilities – and a series of its top commanders have been assassinated in the strikes. Officials say limited rocket and missile firing over the past week suggests it has been repelled.
But the group boasts a large arsenal of rockets and missiles and its remaining capabilities remain unknown.
Hezbollah officials and their supporters remain defiant. Shortly before Friday night’s explosion, thousands of people gathered in another area on the outskirts of Beirut for the funeral of three Hezbollah members killed in previous attacks, including the head of the group. the group’s drone, Mohammed Surour.
Men and women in the huge crowd raised their fists in the air and chanted: “We will never accept humiliation” as they marched behind three coffins, draped in the yellow flag of group.
Hussein Fadlallah, Hezbollah’s top official in Beirut, said in a speech that no matter how many commanders Israel kills, the group still has countless experienced fighters deployed across the front lines. Fadlallah vowed that Hezbollah will continue to fight until Israel stops its offensive in Gaza.
“We will not abandon support for oppressed Palestine, Jerusalem and Gaza,” Fadlallah said. “There is no room for neutrality in this battle.”
