Huge explosions rock Beirut: Hezbollah leader Nasrallah was target of Israeli strikes

Source close to Hezbollah says group's leader Hassan Nasrallah 'fine'

Beirut:  The Israeli military said it struck the headquarters of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Friday.

"The IDF (military) carried out a precise strike on the central headquarters of the terrorist organisation Hezbollah in Dahiyeh," military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a televised statement.

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Hezbollah chief was target of strike

Meanwhile, a leading Israeli television networks reported that Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was the target of an Israeli air strike in a Beirut suburb. "Target of the strike: Nasrallah. The IDF (Israeli military) is checking whether the secretary-general of Hezbollah was in the building in the heart of Dahiyeh (that was struck)," Channel 12 reported.

Public broadcaster Kan 11 said: "Target of the strike in Dahiyeh - Nasrallah." Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said: "We are not commenting on this."

A source close to Hezbollah said that Hassan Nasrallah was "fine" after a massive Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs on Friday that Israeli media said targeted the group's leader.

"Sayyed Nasrallah is fine," the source said, requesting anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media

Lebanese state media also reported that Israeli warplanes launched multiple strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, causing loud explosions in the capital.

"Enemy warplanes carried out a series of strikes on the area of Beirut's southern suburbs," the National News Agency said. Lebanese television showed plumes of smoke rising from several locations in the area.

A source close to Hezbollah said massive Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs flattened six buildings. "The Israeli strikes levelled six buildings," the source said, requesting anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media, after the Israeli military said it carried out "a precise strike" on the group's central headquarters.

The strike came soon after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to continue targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Netanyahu says Israel to continue Lebanon strikes

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed at the UN Friday to press his country's offensive against Lebanon's Hezbollah, dashing hopes for a 21-day truce proposed by France and the United States this week.

Netanyahu's turn at the UN, during which he repeatedly denounced the global organization as anti-Israel, was met with jeers by some delegates who walked out, but cheers and applause from his backers.

"As long as Hezbollah chooses the path of war, Israel has no choice, and Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their homes safe," Netanyahu told the UN General Assembly.

Delegates, including from Lebanon, Iran and the Palestinians, exited the room as Netanyahu took the rostrum for his speech.

Hezbollah and Israel have been locked in a deadly exchange of cross-border fire since the Iran-backed group's Palestinian ally, Hamas, attacked Israel on October 7.

Since Monday, Israel has shifted its focus from Gaza to its northern front with Lebanon where heavy bombing has killed 700 people and sparked an exodus of around 118,000 people.

The UN said Friday that a "catastrophic" intensification of Israeli attacks targeting Hezbollah militants had left Lebanon facing its "deadliest period... in a generation."

The Israeli strikes have brought the overall death toll in Lebanon to more than 1,500 people killed in nearly a year of clashes, according to Lebanese authorities.

That toll surpasses the 1,200 mostly civilians killed during the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, which also killed around 160 Israelis, most of them soldiers.