JERUSALEM/BEIRUT (Reuters) – The Israeli military said it had targeted Hezbollah’s central headquarters in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Friday in an attack that shook the Lebanese capital and sent thick clouds of smoke over the city.
Hezbollah’s 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’s conflict with the heavily armed, Iran-backed Hezbollah.
In a televised statement, Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the central command centre was embedded deep within civilian areas.
Footage broadcast by al-Manar TV showed at least one smouldering crater at the site of the attack.
Security sources in Lebanon said the attack targeted an area where top Hezbollah officials are usually based. It was the heaviest attack in Beirut in almost a year of conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.
The strikes hit Beirut shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to continue Israel’s 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.
A year of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has escalated sharply this week, raising fears of an even more destructive conflict between the heavily armed adversaries.
(Additional reporting by Tom Perry in Beirut; Jana Choukeir and Nadine Awadalla in Dubai; writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Ros Russell, Timothy Heritage and Sharon Singleton)
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