Israel says huge explosion hits Hezbollah headquarters, killing at least two people | Wilnesh News

The Israeli military said on Friday it had attacked Hezbollah’s central headquarters in Beirut, where a series of massive explosions flattened buildings and sent orange and black smoke billowing into the sky in the first wave of attacks in the Lebanese capital last year. The biggest explosion. The Lebanese Health Ministry said at least two people were killed and dozens injured.

Israel’s three major TV channels claimed that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was the target of the attack in the southern suburbs of Beirut. The Associated Press could not immediately confirm the unsourced reports and the military declined to comment. But given the scale and timing of the explosion, there are strong indications that a senior leader may have been inside the building that was attacked.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that Prime Minister Netanyahu suddenly cut short a visit to the United States instead of waiting until the end of the Sabbath on Saturday night to return home, which may be a further indication of the significance of the attack. Hours earlier, Netanyahu gave a speech at the United Nations vowing that Israel would continue its fight against Hezbollah, further undermining hopes for international support for a ceasefire.

When news of the explosion broke, Netanyahu was briefing reporters accompanying him. Netanyahu quickly ended the briefing with a military aide whispering in his ear.

Israel last week aimed to eliminate Hezbollah’s senior leadership to an extent not seen in past conflicts. Defense Minister Yoav Galant’s office said he gathered at military headquarters with the Israeli Air Force chief and other senior commanders after receiving the latest news.

Israeli army spokesman Maj. Gen. Hagari said the attack targeted Hezbollah’s main headquarters beneath a residential building. According to the Lebanese state news agency, six buildings in the Haret Hreik neighborhood of Dahiye were reduced to rubble. The explosion shook windows and houses about 30 kilometers (18 miles) north of Beirut. The ambulance drove to the scene with its siren honking.

Officials at a nearby hospital said they had treated at least 10 injured, three of whom were seriously injured, including a Syrian child.

The Pentagon said on Friday that the United States had no advance warning of the violent attack on Beirut.

Israel this week significantly stepped up air strikes in Lebanon and expressed determination to end Hezbollah’s more than 11 months of artillery fire on its territory. The scope of the Israeli operation is unclear, but officials have said a ground incursion to drive militant groups from the border is possible. Israel has prepared thousands of troops to move to the border.

Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad said Israeli attacks early Friday killed at least 25 people, bringing the death toll in Lebanon this week to more than 720. women and children.

A pre-dawn strike on Friday hit a home in the mainly Sunni border town of Cheba, killing nine members of the same family, the state news agency said. A resident identified the dead as Hussein Zahra, his wife Latiba, their five children and two grandchildren.

Netanyahu vowed at the United Nations to “continue to disparage Hezbollah” until Israel achieves its goals.

Netanyahu’s comments dampened hopes for a US-backed 21-day truce between Israel and Hezbollah to allow time for a diplomatic solution. Hezbollah has yet to respond to the proposal.

Iran-backed Hezbollah, Lebanon’s most powerful force, began firing rockets into Israel almost immediately after Hamas launched its attack on Oct. 7, saying it was supporting the Palestinians. Since then, it and the Israeli military have exchanged near-daily fighting, forcing tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border to flee their homes.

An Israeli security official said he did not expect a possible war against Hezbollah to last as long as the current war in Gaza because the Israeli military’s goals are much narrower.

In Gaza, Israel has vowed to dismantle Hamas’s military and political regime, but Lebanon’s goal is simply to push Hezbollah from its border with Israel — “not as high a target as in Gaza,” the official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of military briefing guidelines.

The Israeli military said it carried out dozens of attacks over two hours on Friday in southern areas, including the cities of Sidon and Nabatiyah. It allegedly targeted Hezbollah rocket launchers and infrastructure. According to reports, Hezbollah fired a series of rockets towards the northern Israeli city of Tiberias.

In the southern Lebanese city of Tyre, civil defense workers pulled the bodies of two women – 35-year-old Hiba Ataya and her mother Sabah Olyan – from the rubble of a building destroyed by the strike. “That’s Sabah, that’s her clothes, my love,” one man shouted as her body emerged.

Israel says this week’s accelerated strikes have caused serious damage to Hezbollah’s weapons capabilities, with several senior Hezbollah commanders assassinated in the attacks. Officials said the limited number of missiles and rockets launched over the past week showed that its operations have been thwarted.

But the group has a vast arsenal of rockets and missiles, and its remaining capabilities remain unknown.

Hezbollah officials and their supporters remain defiant. Shortly before the explosion on Friday night, thousands of people gathered at another location on the outskirts of Beirut for the funeral of three Hezbollah members killed in earlier attacks, including Mohammed, the head of the group’s drone unit. ·Sulur.

Men and women in the crowd pumped their fists in the air and chanted “We will never accept humiliation” as they marched behind three coffins wrapped in yellow flags.

Hussein Fadlallah, a senior Hezbollah official in Beirut, said in a speech that no matter how many commanders Israel kills, the group has countless experienced fighters deployed across the front lines. Fadlallah vowed that Hezbollah would continue to fight until Israel halted its attacks on Gaza.

“We will not abandon our support for Palestine, Jerusalem and oppressed Gaza,” Fadlallah said. “There is no room for neutrality in this fight.”