Multiple explosions rocked Beirut’s Dahiyeh suburb Friday evening, following an Israeli airstrike targeting Hezbollah’s central headquarters.
According to a report by The Jerusalem Post, the building, located under residential structures, was struck as part of Israel’s ongoing efforts against Hezbollah leadership.
The fate of Hezbollah leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who was believed to be inside, remains unconfirmed.
“Anyone in the Hezbollah headquarters will not get out alive,” a senior Israeli security official told army radio, adding that the destruction in Dahieh is enormous.
Lebanon dispatched ambulances to the scene shortly after the attack.
Despite the extensive damage, Reuters reported that Nasrallah survived, citing a source close to Hezbollah.
Iran’s Tasnim News Agency and another Hezbollah official also claimed that Nasrallah was still alive.
IDF Spokesman R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari explained the significance of the target: “Hezbollah’s central headquarters was intentionally built under residential buildings in the heart of the Dahiyeh in Beirut as part of Hezbollah’s strategy of using Lebanese people as human shields.”
He added that the building was key to Hezbollah’s terror activities.
Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, monitored the strike from the Israel Air Force command center, accompanied by the Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevi.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was in New York at the time, cut his trip short to return to Israel after authorising the strike.
The Pentagon later clarified that the U.S. was not given advance notice of the attack, and President Joe Biden stated that he was unaware of the operation before it took place.
Hezbollah affiliate Al Manar TV reported additional airstrikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs, known as Hezbollah strongholds. Last week, Israeli strikes killed 16 Hezbollah commanders, including Ibrahim Aqil and drone unit chief Muhammad Hossein Sarur.
Following the latest attack, ambulances and civil defense vehicles rushed to the scene, attending to multiple buildings that had exploded in the southern suburbs.