Israeli strike targets Hezbollah chief – media
The leader of the Shia Hezbollah movement, Hassan Nasrallah, is alive following a “massive” airstrike on the group’s headquarters, Reuters reports, citing a source close to the movement. West Jerusalem has confirmed that it bombed an underground compound belonging to the militant group in the Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari stated that the main headquarters of the Shia militia, located beneath a civilian neighborhood, was the target of the attack.
Axios reported on Friday, citing an Israeli source, that Nasrallah was the target of the operation and that the Israeli military was checking whether he was affected by the strike. West Jerusalem did not officially confirm this information. Israeli media outlets maintain that the Hezbollah leader was likely killed in the strike.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported that Nasrallah was safe. The agency indicated that six buildings were destroyed in the strike. Lebanese news outlet Al Manar reported that the attack on the suburb resulted in at least six fatalities and 76 injuries, but did not mention Nasrallah.
The Israeli military has struck Beirut’s southern suburbs four times over the past week, killing at least three top Hezbollah commanders: Ibrahim Aqil, Ahmed Wahbi, and Ibrahim Qubaisi. These strikes were part of a bombing campaign targeting Hezbollah and hitting various locations in Lebanon. According to Lebanon’s Health Ministry, at least 1,300 people have been killed in the Israeli strikes.
More than 100,000 people have been evacuated from both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border since Israeli forces began exchanging fire with Hezbollah fighters at the outset of the Israel-Hamas war nearly a year ago.
The Lebanese-based movement has supported the Palestinian cause with sporadic missile attacks against Israeli military installations since West Jerusalem launched its military operation against the Gaza-based Hamas militant group. This was initiated in response to a deadly Hamas raid last October, which resulted in the deaths of around 1,200 Israelis.
According to the Palestinian health authorities, the Israeli campaign has claimed over 41,000 lives, including nearly 16,500 children. West Jerusalem also drastically escalated its campaign against Hezbollah earlier this month, wounding thousands in a sabotage operation targeting the group’s handheld communication devices and subsequently bombarding southern Lebanon with airstrikes since last week.
