Strikes on Beirut command centre
\nA source close to Hezbollah and Iran\u2019s Tasnim news confirm Nasrallah is alive, as Tehran checks his status
\n Beirut
\nThe Israeli military said it had targeted Hezbollah\u2019s central headquarters in Beirut\u2019s southern suburbs on Friday in an attack that shook the Lebanese capital and sent thick clouds of smoke over the city.
\nThe news outlet Axios cited an Israeli source as saying Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was the target of the strike and that the Israeli military was checking if he was hit.
\nA source close to Hezbollah told Reuters that Nasrallah is alive, while Iran\u2019s Tasnim news agency also reported he was safe. A senior Iranian security official told Reuters that Tehran was checking his status.
\nHezbollah\u2019s al-Manar television reported that four buildings were destroyed and there were many casualties in the multiple strikes, which marked a major escalation of Israel\u2019s conflict with the heavily armed, Hezbollah.
\nThe Israeli military said it had carried out a \u201cprecise strike\u201d on Hezbollah\u2019s headquarters which it said were \u201cembedded under residential buildings in the heart of the Dahiyeh in Beirut\u201d.
\nIsrael has struck the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut, known as Dahiyeh, four times over the last week, killing at least three senior Hezbollah military commanders.
\nBut Friday\u2019s attack was far more powerful, with multiple blasts shaking windows across the city, recalling Israeli airstrikes during the war it fought with Hezbollah in 2006.
\nIn a televised statement, Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the central command centre was embedded deep within civilian areas.
\nThe strikes hit Beirut shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to continue Israel\u2019s attacks on Iranian-backed fighters in Lebanon in a closely watched United Nations speech, as hopes faded for a ceasefire that could head off an all-out regional war.
\nIt was by far the most powerful attack carried out by Israel in Beirut during nearly a year of conflict with Hezbollah. Security sources in Lebanon said the attack targeted an area where top Hezbollah officials are usually based.
\nFootage broadcast by al-Manar TV showed at least one smouldering crater at the site of the attack.
\nThe conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has escalated sharply this week, with Israeli airstrikes killing more than 700 people in Lebanon. The escalation has raised fears of an even more destructive conflict between the heavily armed adversaries.
\nSpeaking the UN General Assembly, Netanyahu said: \u201cAs 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 safely.\u201d
\n\u201cIsrael has been tolerating this intolerable situation for nearly a year. Well, I\u2019ve come here today to say enough is enough,\u201d he said.
\nSeveral delegations walked out as Netanyahu approached the lectern while supporters in the gallery cheered. Israel says its campaign aims to secure the safe return home of tens of thousands of people who were forced to evacuate homes in northern Israel because of rocket attacks Hezbollah has been carrying out in solidarity with its Palestinian ally Hamas, which is fighting Israel in Gaza. This week\u2019s escalation has displaced around 100,000 people in Lebanon, increasing the total number of people uprooted in the country by the conflict to well over 200,000.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Strikes on Beirut command centre A source close to Hezbollah and Iran\u2019s Tasnim news confirm Nasrallah is alive, as Tehran checks his status Beirut The Israeli military said it had targeted Hezbollah\u2019s central headquarters in Beirut\u2019s southern suburbs on Friday in an attack that shook the Lebanese capital and sent thick clouds of smoke over […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":433989,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-433971","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n