Beirut.- The Israeli military said today it carried out a “precise strike” against Hezbollah headquarters in Beirut, where the explosion sent huge clouds of orange and black smoke into the sky.
The strong explosion was so powerful that it broke windows and shook homes about 30 kilometers north of Beirut. Ambulances with sirens on could be seen heading to the scene.
Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari made the announcement shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke before the UN General Assembly.
The attack came an hour after thousands of people attended the funeral of a Hezbollah commander who was killed the previous day.
Earlier, an Israeli strike killed a family of nine in a Lebanese border town, authorities said, as Lebanon grappled with a rising death toll, a surge of tens of thousands of people fleeing their homes and the possibility of an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah.
As both sides continued to exchange fire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to world leaders at the UN, pledging to “continue to degrade Hezbollah” until Israel achieves its objectives on the border with Lebanon, further reducing hopes of a internationally supported ceasefire.
Israel markedly stepped up its airstrikes against Lebanon this week, saying it is determined to end 11 months of Hezbollah fire into its territory. The scope of the Israeli operation is not yet known, but authorities have said there is a possibility of a ground invasion to draw the group away from the border. Israel has moved thousands of soldiers to the site in preparation.
This has made Lebanese fear a repeat of the last war between Israel and Hezbollah, which occurred in 2006 and lasted a month and caused great destruction in several parts of the country. Or worse, they fear that Lebanon could suffer devastation of the magnitude caused in Gaza by the Israeli campaign against Hamas, which has now lasted almost a year.
At least 25 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Friday morning, Health Minister Firass Abiad said, bringing the death toll this week in Lebanon to more than 720. He said dozens of women and children were among the dead.
The Israeli military said it carried out dozens of strikes over the course of two hours around the south on Friday, including in the cities of Sidon and Nabatiyeh. He claimed his targets were Hezbollah rocket launchers and infrastructure. He said the group’s armed wing fired a barrage of rockets toward the city of Tiberias in northern Israel.
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