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The Israeli army attacked Hizbollah’s “main command center” on the southern outskirts of Beirut on Friday in an attack targeting Hassan Nasrallah, the group’s leader, in the heaviest bombardment of the Lebanese capital since then. from the start of the attack.
The attack on Beirut came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a defiant speech at the United Nations that Israel “must defeat” the Lebanese militant group despite growing international pressure for a ceasefire.
The Israeli army said it had attacked HizbollahThe company’s headquarters are located under residential buildings. Two people familiar with the situation said the attack targeted Nasrallah.
There has been no official confirmation from Hizbollah on whether Nasrallah survived the attack – or was in Beirut when it happened.
However, senior Iranian politicians told Iranian state television that Israel’s killing of senior leaders and commanders of Hizbollah – the Islamic republic’s most important proxy force – would do not weaken this group.
Iran’s reformist president, Masoud Pezeshkian, called on Muslim countries to condemn the Israeli attack, which he described as a “blatant war crime.” He said his government would “stand with Lebanon and the axis of resistance”.
An Iranian regime insider warned that whether Nasrallah was killed or not, Friday’s attack would “push the war into a completely different phase”.
US President Joe Biden said Washington “did not know or participate in the incident”. [Israel Defense Forces] activities”. When asked if he was worried about Conflict escalates in the area, he added: “I’m always worried about that.”
The White House said Mr. Biden had directed the Pentagon to “assess and adjust as necessary” the situation of the US military in the Middle East and take appropriate protective measures at US embassies. Kamala Harris, the vice president, was also briefed on Israel’s actions, her office said.
Residents of Beirut reported hearing powerful explosions that rocked the city, accompanied by large clouds of dust and smoke rising. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, at least 6 people died and 91 were injured. That number is expected to rise as rescuers continue to search for survivors.
Lebanon’s state news agency said six buildings were reduced to rubble in the Haret Hreik neighborhood in south Beirut.
Hizbollah controls the area, which is home to many of the group’s offices, including those belonging to the group’s social welfare organizations, but it is also a densely populated urban center.
Late Friday night, the Israeli military warned residents in the southern suburbs of Beirut to evacuate for “your safety and the safety of your loved ones.”
“You are close to Hizbollah interests,” said Avichay Adraee, an Israeli military spokesman. said in a post on XIncludes maps, streets, and designated buildings. These warnings echo those the IDF issued to Palestinians in Gaza in response to new attacks.
Daniel Hagari, the IDF’s chief spokesman, on Friday night warned that Hizbollah has developed land-based anti-ship missiles that pose a “clear and present danger to global shipping lanes” and that Israel’s strategic infrastructure.
He added that the Israeli air force is patrolling near Beirut airport and will “not allow flights carrying enemy weapons to land.”
Early Saturday morning, the IDF said it was conducting “targeted attacks” on Hizbollah weapons stored beneath civilian buildings in the Dahiyeh area, on the southern outskirts of Beirut.
The scale of the attack on Nasrallah risks provoking a strong reaction from Hizbollah and Iran. The IDF said Hizbollah fired at least 65 rockets into Israel on Friday night.
Nasrallah’s role in the so-called axis of resistance for Iran-backed militant groups has become increasingly important since the US assassinated Qassem Soleimani, Iran’s most powerful commander, in 2020.
The 64-year-old cleric rarely appears in public and has been in hiding for the past 20 years. Although he regularly gives public addresses, they are always via video link and from unknown locations. The location of the airstrike was not made public as Hizbollah’s headquarters.
The Israeli attack came less than two hours after Netanyahu’s speech to the United Nations General Assembly, in which he made no mention of the US-France effort to broker a ceasefire with Hizbollah, Double campaign against Hamas in Gaza, warning Iran that Israel could attack it anywhere and calling the United Nations an “anti-Semitic swamp.”
He then cut short his visit to New York to fly back to Israel on Friday night, emphasizing the potential importance of events unfolding in Lebanon. It is rare for an Israeli prime minister to travel on the Sabbath.
He said: “As long as Hizbollah chooses the path of war, Israel has no other choice and Israel has every right to eliminate this threat and bring our citizens home safely – and that is exactly it. is what we are doing.”
Netanyahu’s speech, which was met with protests from some other delegations and cheers from his supporters, came after the United States and France proposed a 21-day ceasefire in an effort to a final effort to prevent hostilities from escalating into all-out war.
In his half-hour speech – twice the time allotted to the speakers – Netanyahu pledged to keep up the pressure on Hizbollah and asserted that Israel would also continue its offensive in Gaza until Hamas was destroyed and the Israeli hostages held there were freed.
