Israel flattens Hezbollah headquarters in Beirut

Massive clouds of smoke were seen rising from the Lebanese capital of Beirut as Israel carried out deadly airstrikes on Friday.

Massive clouds of smoke were seen rising from the Lebanese capital of Beirut as Israel carried out deadly airstrikes on Friday. The attack, Israel said, targeted the central headquarters of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group, in an apparent bid to kill its powerful leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

However, hours after the strike, a Hezbollah spokesperson said Nasrallah was unharmed. “His Eminence the Secretary-General is fine and well and was not in the targeted location,” the group's Media Relations Officer Hajj Muhammad Afif said on Iranian television, as reported by NBC News.

Israeli airstrikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs, with the Israeli military confirming that multiple buildings were struck in Dahiyeh, a densely populated area known as a Hezbollah stronghold. Four buildings were reportedly destroyed in the strikes, which rocked the city with powerful blasts, leaving several large craters and damaging surrounding structures.