Israeli Airstrike Targets Hezbollah Headquarters, Escalating Conflict in Beirut

The Israeli military launched a significant airstrike on Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut on Friday, triggering a series of powerful explosions that destroyed multiple high-rise buildings in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital. This marked the largest attack on the city in over a year, and its repercussions are expected to push the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah closer to a full-scale war.

According to Lebanon’s Health Ministry, the attack resulted in the deaths of at least six people and injured 91 others. Rescue operations continued, and the number of casualties is expected to increase as emergency workers search through the rubble of six demolished apartment buildings.

Sources familiar with the situation, including a U.S. official, revealed that the target of the strike was Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah. However, it remains unclear whether Nasrallah was present at the site during the bombing. The Israeli military did not confirm who was being targeted, and Hezbollah has refrained from commenting on the reports.

After the blasts, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cut short his visit to the United States and immediately returned to Israel. He had earlier addressed the United Nations, where he vowed to intensify Israel’s military campaign against Hezbollah. The prime minister’s speech signaled a bleak outlook for the possibility of an internationally mediated ceasefire.

News of the strikes broke while Netanyahu was briefing reporters following his U.N. address. His briefing was abruptly ended when a military aide informed him of the situation. Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, a spokesperson for the Israeli army, stated that the strikes targeted Hezbollah’s central headquarters, which, according to Hagari, was concealed underground beneath residential buildings.

The devastating explosions flattened several apartment towers in Haret Hreik, a densely populated Shiite district in the Dahiyeh suburbs of Beirut. The blasts sent plumes of black and orange smoke into the air, shaking buildings as far as 30 kilometers north of the capital. Footage from the scene showed rescue workers navigating through massive slabs of concrete and debris, with craters visible, one large enough to hold a toppled vehicle. As the chaos unfolded, numerous residents were seen fleeing the area, carrying whatever belongings they could salvage.

Though the Israeli military did not specify the type or number of bombs used, the sheer destruction led some experts to speculate that the attack involved 2,000-pound “Bunker Buster” bombs. Richard Weir, a crisis and weapons researcher with Human Rights Watch, noted that the explosions were consistent with this type of bomb, which is designed to penetrate deep into underground targets.

Following the initial strike, Israel launched a second round of attacks early Saturday morning, also targeting the southern suburbs of Beirut. The Israeli army issued warnings to residents of three buildings, urging them to evacuate before the bombs hit. Israel claimed these buildings were being used by Hezbollah to store weapons, including anti-ship missiles. Additional strikes were carried out in the Beqaa region of eastern Lebanon and the southern city of Tyre.

Over the past week, Israel has significantly ramped up its military campaign against Hezbollah, aiming to neutralize the group’s senior leadership. However, an attempt on Nasrallah’s life, successful or otherwise, would represent a major escalation in the conflict. The U.S. Department of Defense stated that it had no prior knowledge of the attack targeting Nasrallah.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has been in hiding for years, rarely making public appearances. His speeches are typically delivered via video from undisclosed locations. Although the site targeted on Friday evening was located in Hezbollah’s so-called “security quarters” in Haret Hreik, it had not been publicly identified as the group’s main headquarters.

Hours after the strikes, Hezbollah refrained from issuing any statements regarding the attack but instead claimed responsibility for launching rockets at the Israeli city of Safed. In a statement, Hezbollah declared that the rocket attacks were in “defense of Lebanon and its people” and as retaliation for Israel’s bombing of civilian areas. Israel confirmed that a house and a car in Safed were damaged by the rockets, with one 68-year-old woman suffering minor shrapnel injuries.

Israel’s recent military operations have taken a significant toll on Lebanon. The conflict has claimed the lives of more than 720 people, many of them civilians, including women and children, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. In a particularly tragic incident, an Israeli airstrike on Friday morning in the border town of Chebaa killed nine members of a single family.

The United Nations reports that the fighting has displaced over 211,000 people within Lebanon, with 85,000 taking refuge in public schools and other makeshift shelters. The airstrikes have forced the closure of 20 primary health care centers and disrupted clean water access for nearly 300,000 people.

As Israeli forces move closer to Lebanon’s southern border, a ground invasion remains a possibility. Thousands of Israeli troops have been stationed near the border in preparation for potential ground operations aimed at pushing Hezbollah forces further away from Israeli territory. At the United Nations, Netanyahu reiterated Israel’s determination to “degrade Hezbollah” until its objectives are met, dampening any hope for a ceasefire.

The proposed U.S.-backed ceasefire, which sought to create a 21-day pause in hostilities to allow diplomatic negotiations, now seems increasingly unlikely. Hezbollah has not formally responded to the truce proposal, and Israeli officials appear committed to their military campaign. An Israeli security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, noted that the campaign against Hezbollah might not last as long as the ongoing war in Gaza, since the military’s goals in Lebanon are more limited. “The goal here is to push Hezbollah away from the border. It’s not as high a bar as Gaza,” the official said.

Hezbollah’s involvement in the current conflict began shortly after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, which triggered an almost immediate exchange of fire between Hezbollah and the Israeli military. Since then, the two sides have traded rocket attacks on a near-daily basis, forcing tens of thousands of residents on both sides of the border to evacuate their homes.

Despite the intensified airstrikes, Hezbollah remains defiant. In Tyre, Lebanese civil defense workers recovered the bodies of two women from the wreckage of a building brought down by Israeli bombs. The victims were identified as 35-year-old Hiba Ataya and her mother, Sabah Olyan. “That’s Sabah, these are her clothes, my love,” a man cried out as the bodies were pulled from the rubble.

While Israel claims to have inflicted significant damage on Hezbollah’s military capabilities, the extent of the group’s remaining arsenal is unclear. Hezbollah is known to possess a vast stockpile of rockets and missiles, and their exact capabilities are difficult to assess.

In a show of defiance, Hezbollah supporters held a large funeral for three of the group’s members killed in earlier Israeli strikes, including the head of Hezbollah’s drone unit, Mohammed Surour. Thousands of mourners gathered in Beirut’s suburbs, chanting, “We will never accept humiliation,” as they marched behind the coffins. Addressing the crowd, Hussein Fadlallah, Hezbollah’s top official in Beirut, declared that the group would continue to fight until Israel ended its operations in Gaza. “We will not abandon the support of Palestine, Jerusalem, and oppressed Gaza,” Fadlallah said. “There is no place for neutrality in this battle.”