The Israeli military carried out an airstrike on Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon, on Friday, according to a spokesperson.
Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari described the attack as a “precise strike on the Central Headquarters of the Hezbollah terror organization — that served as the epicenter of Hezbollah’s terror.”
Hezbollah’s headquarters, he said, was intentionally located “under residential buildings in the heart of” Beirut.
Initial reporting indicates the target of the strike was none other than Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, though it is unclear whether he survived or was killed in the strike. It is also unclear whether other Hezbollah leaders could have been injured or killed, as well as if there were any civilian casualties.
If Nasrallah was killed in the strike, it would mark the highest-level Hezbollah leader killed in the war and arguably the most important official across Iran’s proxies to be killed since Hamas’s Oct. 7 terrorist attack.
Israel and Hezbollah have engaged in a controlled war for nearly a year, though Israeli forces have expanded the conflict in recent weeks. The two sides had largely engaged in cross-border projectile fires, but Israel, in recent weeks, has decimated Hezbollah’s top command leaders.
Israeli military leaders have also warned about the possibility of a ground invasion into southern Lebanon.
The attacks that have taken place in northern Israel and southern Lebanon have displaced more than 100,000 people on both sides of the border, and even more left southern Lebanon this week after Israeli officials urged them to leave their homes and flee north.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in New York, where he addressed the United Nations General Assembly. During his speech, he reiterated that Israel’s fight is against Iran and its proxies in the Middle East, including Hezbollah.
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It’s unclear how Hezbollah and Iran will respond to the latest attack, which would almost certainly be viewed as a clear escalation.
Earlier this week, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian addressed the U.N. General Assembly, and he warned that Israel’s attacks against Hezbollah “cannot go unanswered.”
