Illustrative image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
An intense wave of Israeli strikes hit Beirut on September 27 afternoon with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) saying it had struck Hezbollah’s main headquarters in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, known as Dahieh.
Hebrew media reported that the target of the strikes was none other than Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah.
Following the strikes, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in an unusual video statement that the command center was built underneath civilian buildings in Dahieh. However, he did not mention whether Nasrallah was a target or was believed to be present at the site.
The strikes flattened six buildings in the suburb, sending thick clouds of smoke over the capital. Footage from the scene showed extensive destruction there.
A Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah’s top officials are usually gathered at the site that was targeted. Meanwhile, sources close to Hezbollah told AFP and Reuters Nasrallah was alive, while Reuters cited an Iranian security official saying Tehran was checking his status.
The strike was reportedly conducted conducted by the 119th “Bat” Squadron, utilizing F-16I Sufa jet-fighters that dropped. advanced American-made 5,000-pound bunker buster bombs.
Initial estimates from Israeli defense officials suggest that around 300 people were killed, potentially including Nasrallah and his daughter, according to the Israeli daily Haaretz. Reports from the Lebanese health ministry recorded at least six fatalities and 91 injuries as of September 28, though most of the rubble has not been searched yet and the number is almost certain to rise.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left a briefing with Israeli reporters after his speech at the United Nations as the news of the strike emerged. The prime minister later announced that he would cut short his visit to the United States and would depart for Israel.
His office released a photograph that it said showed him approving the strike from his New York hotel room, evidently before he addressed the UN.
A Pentagon spokesperson said US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant as the operation was ongoing.
“The United States was not involved in this operation and we had no advance warning,” spokesperson Sabrina Singh said.
Nevertheless, a U.S. official told The Times of Israel that Israel notified Washington about the attack after warplanes were already in the air and the operation was in motion.
The attack on Hezbollah headquarters was followed by another series of strikes on Dahieh early on September 28. The IDF said that the strikes targeted “strategic Hezbollah” sites, including weapon manufacturing facilities, buildings where weapons were stored and additional headquarters. Casualties were reported.
The confrontation between Israel and Lebanon broke out after the beginning of the war in the Gaza Strip last October, with Hezbollah and its allies launching near-daily attacks against the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in support of the Hamas Movement and other armed factions in Palestinian enclave.
The IDF escalated its strikes against Lebanon earlier this week to a level not seen since the war of 2006. So far, the aerial campaign has claimed the lives of more than 700 people.
In response, Hezbollah expanded its attacks deep into northern Israel, hitting targets located more than 50 kilometers away from the Lebanese border.
All in all, the confrontation has so far resulted in 26 civilian deaths in Israel and the occupied Syrian Golan Heights as well as the deaths of at least 22 soldiers and security officers. On the Lebanese side, more than 1,900 people have been killed, including more than 500 members of Hezbollah.
The assassination of Nasrallah, if confirmed, could spark and all-out war between Israel an the Iran-led Axis of Resistance in the Middle East.
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nasrallah’s hide-out should be far from any urban conglomerate, and especially beirut of all places. in the mountains of south lebanon there is no way the cowardly genocidal idf will be able to get him or any others of their top commanders well hidden in fortified mountain bunkers. the idf can only bomb civilian buildings and then call them military targets. to now, have they been unable to defeat hamas after a year. just more zionist hasbara from the controlled western presstitute agencies.
news has come out! heznoballs nasrallah has lost its balls hahaha
only a 2 neuron cell jew brain would believe such bull crap…like if hezbollah hides their military equipment in an urban setting….when they come out of their bunkers in the south and slit your throats, don’t say i didn’t warn you schmuck stains.
don’t cry islamic dumbshit now that your islamonazi idol is dead 😂
i think it’s true that the shias are cowards. despite the intense israeli campaign killing many hezbollah commanders in short order, it seems to me both iran and hezbollah are afraid of retaliating proportionately. this is crazy because it clear that israel is determined to drag the shia crescent into a war. at this point, it’s pure cowardice to continue to lie low.
i am in favor of abandoning palestine to its fate. what did sunnis ever do for shia, except killing them. let sunnis deal with israhell.
nasrallah himself has been targetted. no matter how much hezbollah tries to avoid a full-blown war by turning the other cheek over and over again, this war is right on its doorstep. there has been so much hot air from the iran-led shias in the past decades. it’s time to prove yourselves like the taliban did. your terror militias seem only good at killing sinni civilians that oppose their destructive influence in their countries.
i knew for years that america and israeli will fight iran by destroying its militia organizations one at a time, then go for iran itself, at what point, iran would have been isolated and considerably weakened. if hezbollah’s existence is threatened, the other shia militias will join the fight to help hezbollah survive. then america gets directly involved to crush the shia militias regionwide. i don’t think iran can dodge this one like it did for soleimani.
big discrepancy between israeli claims of 300 killed and lebanese health services reporting only 6. secondly, hezbollah officials doesn’t mean military commanders, hezbollah is “a lebanese shia islamist political party and military-resistance organization, that also provides social welfare and religious education services.” wouldn’t hurt to point that out in your “reporting” (or reposting of time of israel articles)
what happens to bashar al-assad and russia in syria if the shia militias are drawn into a war in lebanon and crushed by america and its allies? these shia militias have been russia’s footsoldiers for much of the ground fighting to prop-up assad. if they are weakened or even eliminated from iraq to syria and lebanon, will russia deploy its army in syria? i doubt iran would deploy its army either.
i dont know but you can be sure there will more angry words and complaints from iran and no action
the last thing nasrallah witnessed was watching netanyahu delivered his speech at the un moments before he exploded
fourth plague of lebanon delivered straight to nasrallah’s face.
if iran is dragged into a war in lebanon, will assad commit syrian forces to help iran? if he does that, the syrian war may start afresh as sunni forces regroup to oust him. putin is still dealing with ukraine and cannot afford to send russian ground troops to syria. this war between hezbollah and israel could be a blessing to the sunni muslim world. (israel + america) vs (iran + russia). four powerful anti-sunni forces. i like it. fight, fight, and fight to utter exhaustion.