Several explosions rock Beirut as Israel claims it attacked Hezbollah headquarters | Israel-Lebanon attacks

Israel carried out a wave of devastating air raids on the Lebanese capital, Beirut, which it said targeted the headquarters of the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

A series of massive explosions sent huge clouds of smoke rising above the densely populated Haret Hreik neighborhood in Dahiyeh, south Beirut, at dusk on Friday.

Waves of attacks continued early Saturday, pushing thousands of residents to flee the area.

At least six people were killed and 91 others injured in these attacks, according to Lebanese health authorities, and the toll is expected to rise further.

“It has been a long night of violence with near-relentless Israeli attacks targeting neighborhoods in Beirut’s southern suburbs,” Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr reported from Beirut.

“People are running away… but there is a lot of concern that this is just the beginning. »

The Israeli military said Friday’s initial attack targeted the Iran-aligned group’s “central headquarters,” which it said was “embedded beneath residential buildings in the heart of Beirut’s Dahiyeh.”

Several buildings in the Haret Hreik neighborhood of Dahiyeh were reduced to ruins, Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television reported. The explosion shook windows and shook homes about 30 kilometers north of Beirut. Ambulances were seen heading towards the scene, sirens blaring.

Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem, reporting from Tire in southern Lebanon, said the attacks on Beirut’s Haret Hreik suburb “wiped out an entire block near Beirut International Airport” and that about six nine buildings were completely or partially destroyed.

“Israel has worked deliberately in recent weeks to strike the southern suburbs of Beirut, targeting Hezbollah commanders in different areas in order to dismantle the group’s chain of command,” he added.

The initial attack was followed by an unprecedented five hours of continuous attacks on Saturday morning. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said hospitals in the region would be evacuated and called on non-affected hospitals to temporarily stop receiving non-urgent cases.

Israel has already attacked targets in Dahiyeh four times over the past week, killing at least three senior Hezbollah military commanders.

But the latest attack was far more powerful, with multiple explosions shaking the city’s windows, reminiscent of Israeli air raids during its 2006 war with Hezbollah.

The bombings began moments after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu concluded his speech to delegates to the UN General Assembly in New York on Friday, in which he pledged to continue attacks against Hezbollah and to fight until “total victory” in Gaza.

The Israeli leader cut short his trip to New York to return to Israel amid the attacks.

A missile from Lebanon was fired at central Israel and fell in an open area, the Israeli army announced on Saturday.

“Severe escalation”

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the attack on south Beirut showed Israel did not care about global calls for a ceasefire in Lebanon.

The Iranian embassy in Lebanon said the attack represented a “serious escalation” and that “the perpetrator would be appropriately punished.”

A Pentagon spokesman said the United States had no advance warning of the deadly strike on Dahiyeh on Friday evening and that US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had spoken with Israel’s minister to Defense Yoav Gallant while the operation was underway.

“The United States was not involved in this operation and we received no prior warning,” spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters.

It was the most powerful attack in nearly a year of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which has exchanged almost daily cross-border fire since October, when the Lebanese group said it would carry out attacks against Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza. amid Israel’s war on the territory.

The fighting has forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes on both sides of the Israeli-Lebanese border.

The Israeli army has significantly escalated the conflict in recent days. At least 25 people were killed in Israeli attacks Friday morning, Health Minister Firass Abiad said, bringing the death toll in Lebanon this week to more than 720. He said the dead included dozens of women and children.

In his speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Netanyahu said operations against Hezbollah “will continue until we achieve our objectives.”