Israel says it attacked Hezbollah’s headquarters with a large explosion in Beirut, Lebanon

Israeli forces raided Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut on Friday a series of large explosions which targeted the leader of a militant group and leveled several high-rise apartments in a major explosion that hit the Lebanese capital last year. At least six people died and 91 were injured, said the Ministry of Health in Lebanon.

Hezbollah Leader Hassan Nasrallah was the target of strikes at the group’s headquarters, according to two people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified, including a US official. The Israeli army declined to comment. It is not clear if Nasrallah was in this area, and Hezbollah did not comment on this report.

The death toll could rise significantly as teams are still sifting through the rubble of six buildings.

In another sign of the importance of the strikes, 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 evening, his office said. Israeli politicians rarely go on the Sabbath without important business.

Hours earlier, Netanyahu addressed the UN, vowing that Israel campaign against Hezbollah will continue – some dim hopes for an end to the internationally-backed ceasefire. Many delegates stood up and left before he gave his speech.

The news of this explosion appeared when Netanyahu told the reporters he was with. A military aide whispered in his ear, and Netanyahu quickly ended the briefing.

On a scale not seen in previous conflicts, Israel this past week aimed to eliminate the top leadership of Hezbollah. Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the strikes were aimed at Hezbollah’s headquarters, which is under residential buildings. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s office said he had met with the head of the Israeli army and other senior commanders at army headquarters, following the review.

In a videotaped statement released later, Hagari said Israeli forces were “preparing to carry out strikes on Hezbollah strategic assets hidden under three buildings in the heart of Dahieh in Beirut.” He pointed to the buildings where Israel said Hezbollah was storing missiles and said that residents had been contacted and warned to leave immediately.

An earlier series of large explosions at dusk reduced six buildings to rubble in the Haret Hreik neighborhood of Beirut’s Dahiyeh suburb, according to the Lebanese state news agency. The shock wave rattled windows and shook houses 30 kilometers (18 miles) north of Beirut. TV footage showed several craters – one with a car that had fallen into it – among the collapsed buildings in the heavily populated, mainly Shiite area.

First responders were still searching under the rubble hours later as others struggled to put out the fire. The number of injured was not yet clear, said the Ministry of Health, adding that 15 of the 76 injured were hospitalized. Many people living in this area were seen collecting goods and fleeing on the main road from this region.

Nasrallah has been in hiding for years, rarely seen in public. He often gives lectures – but always via video from unknown sources. The site as of Friday evening was not publicly identified as Hezbollah’s headquarters, although it is located in the group’s “security” area, the highly-rented Haret Hreik complex where it has offices and several nearby hospitals.

The Pentagon said the US had no advance warning about the strikes.

The White House said President Biden was briefed by his national security team “multiple times” on Friday and “directed the Pentagon to review and adjust the posture of US forces in the region to enhance deterrence, ensure force protection, and support the full range. He also directed his team to ensure that the US embassies in the region are taking all necessary protective measures.

“The events of the past week and the past few hours underscore how critical a time this is for the Middle East and the world,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a press conference Friday in New York. “Israel has the right to defend itself against terrorism. How it does so is important. The decisions that will be made by all parties in the coming days will determine which path this region takes, which will have serious consequences for its people now and perhaps for years to come.”

Israel is amazing intensified airstrikes in Lebanon this week, saying it was determined to end more than 11 months of Hezbollah fire on its territory. The extent of the Israeli operation remains unclear, but officials have said a ground attack to push the terrorist group across the border is possible. Israel has moved thousands of troops along the border in preparation.

Israeli strikes this week have killed more than 720 people in Lebanon, including scores of women and children, according to Health Ministry figures.

An early morning strike on Friday in the Sunni border town of Chebaa hit a house, killing 9 members of one family, state media said. The resident identified the deceased as Hussein Zahra, his wife Ratiba, their five children and their two grandchildren.

At the UN, Netanyahu vowed to “continue to humiliate Hezbollah” until Israel achieves its goals. His comments dampened hopes that a 21-day deal would be reached between Israel and Hezbollah to allow time for a diplomatic solution. Hezbollah did not respond to this proposal.

Iran-backed Hezbollah, Lebanon’s most powerful armed force, began firing rockets into Israel shortly after the October 7 Hamas attack, saying it was a show of support for the Palestinians. Since then, it and the Israeli army have traded fire almost daily, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes on both sides of the border.

An Israeli security official said he expects that a possible war against Hezbollah will not last as long as the current war in Gaza, because the targets of the Israeli army are much smaller.

In GazaIsrael aims to dismantle the military and political regime of Hamas, but the aim in Lebanon is to push Hezbollah away from Israel’s border – “not as high as Gaza” for operational purposes, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to military information guidelines.

Israel’s military said it carried out several strikes in the south on Friday, targeting Hezbollah rockets and infrastructure. It says that Hezbollah fired a number of rockets towards the northern Israeli city of Tiberias.

In the southern Lebanese city of Tyre, security forces pulled the bodies of two women – 35-year-old Hiba Ataya and her mother Sabah Olyan – from the rubble of a building that had been toppled by the strike.

“This is Sabah, his clothes my dear,” cried another man when the body appeared.

Israel says its accelerated strikes this week have caused significant damage to Hezbollah’s weapons capabilities and its fighters. But the group boasted a large collection of rockets and missiles and its remaining strength is unknown.

Hezbollah officials and their supporters remain defiant. Shortly before Friday evening’s explosion, thousands gathered in another part of Beirut for the funeral of three Hezbollah members killed in previous strikes, including the head of the group’s drone division, Mohammed Surour.

Men and women in the large crowd raised their fists in the air and chanted, “We will never accept humiliation” as they marched behind three coffins, wrapped in the team’s yellow flag.

Hussein Fadlallah, the senior official of Hezbollah in Beirut, said in his speech that no matter how many commanders are killed by Israel, the group has an infinite number of veteran soldiers who have been deployed in all wars. Fadlallah vowed that Hezbollah will continue to fight until Israel stops attacking Gaza.

“We will not give up support for Palestine, Jerusalem and the oppressed Gaza,” said Fadlallah. “There is no place for neutrality in this war.”