The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah took a decisive turn on Friday after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed at the UN to press his country's offensive against Lebanon's Hezbollah.
Soon after Netanyahu's address, Israel conducted air strikes in which at least six buildings in Beirut's southern suburbs were flattened after Israel pounded Beirut with heavy bombs. The strikes, heard across the city, sent huge clouds of smoke soaring above the densely populated south of Beirut, the main bastion of Iran-backed Hezbollah, according to media reports.
"Enemy warplanes carried out a series of strikes on the area of Beirut's southern suburbs," Lebanon's National News Agency said. Lebanese television showed plumes of smoke rising from several locations in the area.
"The Israeli strikes levelled six buildings," the source said, requesting anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media, after the Israeli military said it carried out "a precise strike" on the group's central headquarters as reported by news agency AFP.
Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said the strike targeted "the central headquarters" of Hezbollah in the southern suburbs of the city. Meanwhile, an AFP report citing a source close to Hezbollah said that Hassan Nasrallah was "fine" after a massive Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs on Friday that Israeli media said targeted the group's leader.
"Sayyed Nasrallah is fine," the source said, requesting anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media. Leading Israeli television networks reported that Nasrallah was the target of the strike.
The comment came after leading Israeli television networks reported that Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was the target of a massive Israeli air strike in a Beirut suburb. "Target of the strike: Nasrallah. The IDF (Israeli military) is checking whether the secretary-general of Hezbollah was in the building in the heart of Dahiyeh (that was hit)," Channel 12 reported. Public broadcaster Kan 11 said: "Target of the strike in Dahiyeh - Nasrallah."
*With Agency Inputs
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