At least two people are reported to have been killed and nearly 80 injured in the Israeli attack that hit a densely populated area in southern Lebanon on Friday, according to Lebanon's Health Department.
Media reports claim that Hizbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah was the target of the Israeli attack. However, a source close to Hizbollah says that the Shia militia leader is "okay".
Daniel Hagari, spokesperson for the Israeli military, says that the attack hit Iran-backed Hizbollah's headquarters in Beirut. According to him, the headquarters was located under a residential building in a densely populated area in al-Dahiya (Dahieh) in southern Beirut.
"Dangerous escalation"
Israel's military describes the headquarters as "the epicenter of Hizbollah's terror", according to a statement on the messaging app Telegram.
Iran's embassy in Beirut condemns the attack and warns of a "dangerous escalation" in the Middle East. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian claims that the attack constitutes a "war crime".
Later on Friday, Israel continued to strike several Hizbollah targets in southern Lebanon, announced Israel's military. Hizbollah also reported that it had fired rockets at the city of Safed in northern Israel.
Totally destroyed buildings
Sources close to Hizbollah report that the attack on Beirut leveled several buildings to the ground. The massive explosions are reported to have been so powerful that they shook windows and houses about 30 kilometers north of Beirut.
The Israeli attack came shortly after Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke before the UN General Assembly in New York. The Prime Minister is, however, interrupting his visit to the USA and will directly return to Israel.
Washington was not informed in advance about Israel's plans to strike Beirut, according to the White House spokesperson Sabrina Singh.
The US was not involved in this operation, and we were not warned in advance, she says.
Singh adds that the country's Defense Minister Lloyd Austin received the information from his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant when "the operation was already underway".
