Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Friday (Sep 27) said they had targeted Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in a strike on the militant organisation’s central headquarters in Beirut. However, the IDF has not confirmed whether Nasrallah was hit in the strikes.
“Hezbollah’s central headquarters was intentionally built under residential buildings in the heart of the Dahiyeh in Beirut as part of Hezbollah’s strategy of using Lebanese people as human shields,” IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari stated in an evening address.
Lebanon’s health ministry said two people were killed and 76 wounded in the strikes.
“The successive Israeli enemy strikes on Haret Hreik in Beirut’s southern suburbs, in a preliminary toll, killed two people and wounded 76, including… 15 that required hospitalisation,” a ministry statement said.
Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV said four buildings had been destroyed in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital. Later, news agency AFP quoted a Hezbollah source as saying that at least six buildings were flattened in the attack.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant later visited the Israel Air Force’s (IAF) command and control centre, and monitored the fresh wave of assault.
Israeli Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) later released a photo, showing PM Benjamin Netanyahu approving the airstrike on Hezbollah headquarters in Beirut earlier on Friday, evidently before he left to address the UN General Assembly.
The photo appears to show Netanyahu at his hotel in New York, alongside his military secretary and chief of staff.
According to reports, the Israeli PM has cut short his visit to the United States and is returning to the country urgently.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon in a statement said it was not informed by Israel prior to the strikes on Hezbollah headquarters.
“The United States was not involved in this operation and we had no advanced warning,” Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters.
(With inputs from agencies)
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