Israeli airstrikes hit southern suburbs of Beirut after another strike destroyed buildings

BEIRUT: Israel's air force struck the southern suburbs of Beirut early Saturday, hours after another airstrike destroyed several buildings, killing and wounding dozens of people.

The new airstrikes came shortly after an Israeli military spokesman warned the residents of several buildings to evacuate them saying they were being used by the militant Hezbollah group.

Israel's military confirmed that the air forces are striking areas south of Beirut.

Separately, Lebanon's Health Ministry said six were killed and 91 wounded in several Israeli strikes that struck Friday. The toll is likely to rise significantly as teams are still combing through the rubble of six buildings

The Israeli military 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-fledged war.

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 US official. The Israeli army declined to comment on who it was targeting. It was not immediately clear if Nasrallah was at the site, and Hezbollah did not comment on the report.

After the strikes, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly cut short a visit to the United States to return home. Hours earlier, he addressed the UN, vowing that Israel's intensified campaign against Hezbollah over the past two weeks would continue — further dimming hopes for an internationally backed cease-fire.

News of the blasts came as Netanyahu was briefing reporters after his UN 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 located underground beneath residential buildings.

The series of blasts at 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. A wall of billowing black and orange smoke rose into the sky as windows were rattled and houses shaken some 30 kilometres north of Beirut.

Footage showed rescue workers clambering over large slabs of concrete, surrounded by high piles of twisted metal and wreckage. Several 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.

To a degree unseen in past conflicts, Israel this past week has aimed to eliminate Hezbollah's senior leadership. But an attempt to assassinate Nasrallah – successful or not – would be a major escalation. The Pentagon said the US had no advance warning of the strikes.

Nasrallah has been in hiding for years, very rarely appearing in public. He regularly gives speeches, but always by video from unknown locations. The site hit Friday evening had not been 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 several nearby hospitals.

Four hours after the strike, Hezbollah had still not issued any statement referring to it. Instead, it announced that it had launched a salvo of 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, without providing details.

The Israeli army later warned residents to evacuate three buildings in other southern Beirut neighbourhoods, saying it was about to strike them because Hezbollah was using them to hide weapons.

Israel dramatically 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 has killed more than 720 people in Lebanon, including dozens of women and children, according to Health Ministry statistics. A predawn strike Friday in the mainly Sunni border town of Chebaa killed nine members of the same family, the state news agency said.

The scope of Israel's operation remains unclear, but officials have said a ground invasion to push the militant group away from the border is a possibility. Israel has moved thousands of troops toward the border in preparation.

At the UN, Netanyahu vowed to “continue degrading Hezbollah” until Israel achieves its goals. His comments dampened hopes for a US-backed call for a 21-day truce between Israel and Hezbollah to allow time for a diplomatic solution. Hezbollah has not responded to the proposal.

Iranian-backed Hezbollah, the strongest armed force in Lebanon, began firing rockets into Israel almost immediately after Hamas' October 7 attack, saying it was a show of support for the Palestinians. Since then, it and the Israeli military have traded fire almost daily, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes on both sides of the border.