BEIRUT — The Israeli military said it struck Hezbollah's headquarters in Beirut on Friday in a series of massive explosions that targeted the leader of the militant group and leveled multiple high-rise apartment buildings.
The biggest blast to hit the Lebanese capital in the past year appeared likely to push the escalating conflict closer to full-scale war. The Health Ministry reported at least six people killed and 91 others wounded but said the figure was likely to rise as first responders searched the rubble.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was the target of the strikes on the group's headquarters, according to two people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity, including one U.S. official. The Israeli army declined to comment on who it targeted. It was not immediately clear if Nasrallah was at the site, and Hezbollah did not comment on the report.
After the strikes, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly cut short a visit to the U.S. to return home. Hours earlier, he addressed the U.N., vowing that Israel's intensified campaign against Hezbollah would continue — further dimming hopes for a cease-fire.
“Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their home safely. And that’s exactly what we’re doing,†Netanyahu said, eliciting applause from supporters in the gallery of the General Assembly. “We’ll continue degrading Hezbollah until all our objectives are met."
When Netanyahu entered the hall and was introduced, boos and raised voices echoed, and many delegates walked out.Â
News of the blasts came as Netanyahu briefed reporters after his U.N. address. A military aide whispered into his ear, and Netanyahu quickly ended the briefing.
Israeli army spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the strikes targeted the main Hezbollah headquarters, saying it was underground beneath residential buildings.
The blasts around nightfall reduced six apartment towers to rubble in Haret Hreik, a densely populated, predominantly Shiite district of Beirut's Dahiyeh suburbs, according to Lebanon's national news agency. Smoke rose into the sky as windows rattled and houses were shaken about 18 miles north of Beirut.
Footage showed rescue workers clambering over slabs of concrete, surrounded by piles of twisted metal and wreckage. Craters were visible, one with a car toppled into it. A stream of residents carrying their belongings were seen fleeing along a main road out of the district.
Israel's air forces followed with a new set of strikes early Saturday shortly after an Israeli military spokesman warned residents of three buildings to evacuate, saying they were being used by Hezbollah to hide weapons, including anti-ship missiles. Israel's military announced additional attacks on Beqaa in eastern Lebanon and Tyre in the south.
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To a degree unseen in past conflicts, Israel this week aimed to eliminate Hezbollah's senior leadership. But an attempt to assassinate Nasrallah would be a major escalation. The Pentagon said the U.S. had no advance warning of the strikes.
President Joe Biden also said the U.S. had “no knowledge of or participation in†Israel's strikes. The White House said Biden ordered his national security team to assess if further action is needed to beef up security for American interests in the Middle East.
Nasrallah has been in hiding for years, rarely appearing in public. He regularly gives speeches by video from undisclosed locations.
The site hit Friday evening was not publicly known as Hezbollah's main headquarters, though it is located in the group's "security quarters," a heavily guarded part of Haret Hreik where it has offices and runs nearby hospitals.
Hours after the strike, Hezbollah announced it launched rockets at the Israeli city of Safed, which it said was “in defense of Lebanon and its people, and in response to the barbaric Israeli violation of cities, villages and civilians.†The Israeli military said a house and a car in Safed were hit, and officials said a 68-year-old woman suffered mild shrapnel wounds.
Iranian-backed Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel almost immediately after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, saying it was a show of support for the Palestinians. Since then, it and the Israeli military traded fire almost daily, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes on both sides of the border.
Israel intensified its airstrikes in Lebanon this week, saying it is determined to put an end to more than 11 months of Hezbollah fire into its territory. The escalated campaign killed more than 720 people in Lebanon, including dozens of women and children, according to Health Ministry statistics.
Hezbollah officials and their supporters remain defiant. Thousands amassed Friday in another part of Beirut's suburbs for the funeral of three Hezbollah members killed in earlier strikes, including the head of the group's drone unit, Mohammed Surour.
Men and women in the giant crowd waved their fists and chanted, "We will never accept humiliation" as they marched marched behind the three coffins, wrapped in the group's yellow flag.
Hussein Fadlallah, Hezbollah's top official in Beirut, said no matter how many commanders Israel kills, the group has endless numbers of experienced fighters. He vowed that Hezbollah will keep fighting until Israel stops its Gaza offensive.
"We will not abandon the support of Palestine, Jerusalem and oppressed Gaza," Fadlallah said. "There is no place for neutrality in this battle."
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