Early Saturday, a series of airstrikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs as Israel escalated its attacks on Hezbollah following a major strike targeting the command center of the Iran-backed group, potentially aiming at leader Hassan Nasrallah.
According to Reuters, over 20 airstrikes were heard before dawn. Thousands of Lebanese residents, displaced by an Israeli evacuation order, abandoned their homes in the southern suburbs and sought refuge in downtown Beirut and seaside areas.
“They want to destroy Dahiye, they want to destroy all of us,” said Sari, a man in his 30s, referring to the suburb he had fled. In Beirut’s Martyrs Square, displaced families rolled out mats and tried to sleep.
The Israeli military reported that around 10 projectiles had been launched from Lebanon into Israeli territory, with some being intercepted. The projectiles were detected after sirens sounded in the Upper Galilee area.
The attack marked an escalation in the conflict, which has seen daily missile and rocket exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah.
Saturday’s airstrikes were the most intense by Israel on Beirut during nearly a year of conflict with the group, raising concerns of a wider regional conflict potentially involving Iran, Hezbollah’s principal supporter, and the United States.
There has been no confirmation of Nasrallah’s whereabouts following Friday’s strike, though a source close to Hezbollah indicated he was unreachable. Israel has not confirmed whether Nasrallah was the intended target but stated that top Hezbollah commanders were targeted.
The Israeli military announced it had killed the commander of Hezbollah’s missile unit, Muhammad Ali Ismail, and his deputy, Hossein Ahmed Ismail.
Despite various reports, the status of Nasrallah remains unclear. A source close to Hezbollah and Iran’s Tasnim news agency claimed he was safe, while a senior Iranian security official stated that Tehran was still verifying his condition.
