In a significant escalation of hostilities, the Israeli Air Force launched an airstrike on Hezbollah’s main headquarters in Beirut's southern suburbs, according to a statement made by Israeli army Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari.

The headquarters, located in the Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut—a known Hezbollah stronghold—was reportedly constructed underneath civilian buildings.

This tactic of embedding military infrastructure within civilian areas has been a longstanding strategy of the militant group, Hagari said. 

The spokesman did not provide details about the extent of the damage or potential casualties, but he emphasized that the strike targeted a central element of Hezbollah’s operations. Despite the attack, Hagari assured that there were no immediate changes to safety guidelines for Israeli civilians at this time, indicating that the army does not foresee an immediate retaliation against Israeli towns and cities.

Israel is investigating whether Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was at the group's headquarters in Beirut during the strike, Axios quoted an Israeli source as saying. 

U.S. Officials told ABC News that Nasrallah and several of his aides were making a short visit to Beirut at the time of the Israeli airstrike on the Hezbollah command bunker .

Iran's Tasnim news agency, which first reported that Nasrallah was safe, later said that it is still not possible to confirm his condition "due to the disruption in communication systems in Dahiyeh."

The United States did not have advanced warning of an Israeli strike in Beirut and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart as the operation was ongoing, a Pentagon spokesperson said.

"The United States was not involved in this operation and we had no advanced warning," Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters.

In the wake of the strike, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei  convened an emergency session of the Supreme National Security Council at his home, the New York Times reported, citing two knowledgeable Iranian officials.

Ten massive explosions were reportedly heard across the area. 

Ambulances rushed to the scene where four buildings were reportedly razed to the ground by the airstrikes. 

According to the Health Ministry, the initial toll indicates that at least six people were killed and 91 others were wounded in the strike. 

 

فيديو للحظة الغارات العنيفة التي هزّت #الضاحية_الجنوبية pic.twitter.com/PiFrvW8hAK

— kataeb.org (@kataeb_Ar) September 27, 2024