BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, Sept 28 (Askume) – Israel launched air strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut and other areas in Lebanon on Saturday, a day after a major assault on Hezbollah headquarters that appeared to be aimed at killing Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.
The fate of Nasrallah, leader of the Iran-backed group for 32 years , remains unclear, with Hezbollah yet to issue a statement on his status.
Askume correspondents heard more than 20 airstrikes in Beirut before dawn on Saturday, and more after sunrise. Thick smoke rose over the city’s Hezbollah-controlled southern suburb, known as Dahiya.
Thousands of people who have fled the area since Friday’s attack have gathered in Beirut’s city squares, parks and sidewalks and along the waterfront.
“They want to destroy Dahiya, they want to destroy all of us,” said Sari, a 30-year-old man who gave only his first name, referring to the suburb where he lives because of an Israeli evacuation order. Exodus. In nearby Beirut’s Martyrs’ Square, newly displaced people laid mats on the ground and tried to sleep.
The Israeli military said a missile fired in central Israel on Saturday fell in an open area. Earlier, the military said about 10 missiles entered Israel from Lebanon and some of them were intercepted.
The Israeli military also said it was attacking Hezbollah positions in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon, along the Syrian border. The Israeli military has continued to attack the area since last week.
Friday’s attack followed five hours of Israeli attacks on Beirut on Saturday morning, the most violent assault on a city during the conflict with Hezbollah.The war has been going on in Gaza for almost a year .
The escalation in tensions has raised concerns that the conflict could spiral out of control and involve Hezbollah’s main backers, Iran and the United States.
Nasrallah’s condition could not be immediately confirmed following Friday’s violent attack, but a source close to Hezbollah told Askume he could not be contacted.
Israel has not said whether it attempted to attack Nasrallah, but senior Israeli officials said senior Hezbollah commanders were targeted.
When Israeli officials were asked whether Nasrallah was killed in Friday’s attack, he told reporters, “I think it’s too early to say… Sometimes when we succeed, they hide it.”
Earlier, a source close to Hezbollah told Askume that Nasrallah was still alive. Iran’s Tasnim news agency also reported that he was safe. A senior Iranian security official told Askume that Tehran was investigating his case.
The Israeli military said in a statement that it had killed Hezbollah missile force commander Mohammed Ali Ismail and his deputy Hussein Ahmed Ismail.
Israeli attacks have spread to new areas of Lebanon this week. On Saturday, airstrikes hit the Lebanese mountain town of Bhamdoun, southeast of Beirut, Lebanese regional MP Mark Daou told Askume.
Bamdu mayor Walid Khairallah told Askume the attack took place in a large open field and there were no casualties.
The death toll rises
Hours before the latest bombing, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the United Nations that Israel had the right to go ahead with the operation.
“As long as Hezbollah continues to choose the path of war, Israel has no choice but to eliminate this threat and allow its citizens to return home safely,” he said.
As Netanyahu approached the stage, several delegations walked out. He laterHe gave up the trip to New York and returned to Israel.
Lebanese health officials confirmed that six people were killed and 91 wounded in Friday’s earlier attack, the fourth in a week in Beirut’s Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs and the deadliest since the 2006 war.
The death toll is expected to be higher. There was no information on casualties in subsequent attacks. Officials said more than 700 people were killed in last week’s attacks.
Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television reported seven buildings were destroyed.
Hours later, the Israeli military asked residents in parts of Beirut’s southern suburbs to evacuate as they targeted missile launchers and weapons storage sites beneath civilian homes.
Hezbollah’s media office said in a statement that it denied that there were any weapons or arsenal inside the building that was attacked on the outskirts of Beirut.
Alaa al-Din Said, a resident of the area targeted by Israel, told Askume he was fleeing with his wife and three children.
“We found out about it on TV. There was a lot of rioting in the neighbourhood,” he said. The family took clothes, ID cards and some cash, but they got stuck in traffic while others tried to flee.
“We’re going to the mountains. We’ll see how we spend the night – we’ll see what we can do tomorrow.”
Nearly 100,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon this week, bringing the number of homeless people in the country to more than 200,000.
The Israeli government has said the goal of the war is to return about 70,000 Israeli civilians to their homes.
There are concerns that the fighting will spread
Hezbollah has fired hundreds of rockets and missiles at Israeli targets, including Tel Aviv. The group said rockets were fired on the northern Israeli city of Safed on Friday, where a woman was treated for minor injuries.
So far, Israeli air defense systems have ensured that losses are kept to a minimum.
Iran said Friday’s attack crossed a “red line” and accused Israel of using US-made “bunker-busting” bombs.
Concerns about the rapid progress were raised at this week’s annual United Nations General Assembly, including by France, which joined the United States in proposing a 21-day ceasefire.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a press conference in New York: “We believe the way forward is through diplomacy, not through conflict… We will continue to work deliberately with all parties to help them find a way forward.”
Hezbollah launched a missile attack on Israel on October 7 last year, shortly after Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an assault on Israel in Gaza , ending the decades-long conflict.
