The Israeli Defence Forces released a footage showing what it described as an overnight strike targeting headquarters of Hezbollah in Lebanon’s Beirut.
In a social media post on X, IDF said that it launched its twenty sixth wave of strikes in Dehiya since the start of its campaign and targeted headquarters and 10 high-rise buildings containing military infrastructure of Hezbollah.
“The IDF completed a broad wave of strikes in Beirut overnight, targeting terror infrastructure of the terror organisation Hezbollah. As part of the strikes, the headquarters of the Executive Council was struck, along with a warehouse where unmanned aerial vehicles were stored, which Hezbollah uses in attacks towards the State of Israel,” IDF said.
“The headquarters that were struck were intended to serve the terror organisation Hezbollah in advancing various terror plots against IDF forces and civilians of the State of Israel.
Prior to the strike, steps were taken to minimise the risk of harm to civilians, including advance warnings, use of precision munitions, and aerial observations. The IDF will continue to act forcefully against the terror organisation Hezbollah, which decided to join the campaign and operate under the auspices of the Iranian terror regime, and will not allow harm to civilians of the State of Israel,” it added.
Meanwhile, The New York Times reported that the strikes were conducted in a densely populated commercial and residential area in the Beirut region that is a stronghold of the Lebanese militant group.
A series of violent strikes then rocked the city, the most intense barrage since a ceasefire in late 2024 paused fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran. As explosions shook the city, collapsing at least three buildings, residents fled.
The attacks continued into the early morning hours, with more than 10 Israeli airstrikes targeting a minimum of five areas in the southern suburbs before dawn. And drones continued to hover over Beirut.
Hezbollah joined the Middle East crisis, opening up another front in the war. The militants launched projectiles into northern Israel overnight Sunday for the first time in more than a year and the Israeli military quickly retaliated, declaring that Hezbollah had violated the truce.
Hezbollah said it was responding to Israel’s violations throughout the truce, as well as the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader, who died in a strike on his compound in Tehran on Saturday.
The Israeli military had been attacking Hezbollah’s infrastructure and capabilities amid the ceasefire, arguing that the Lebanese military was failing to promptly disarm the powerful militant group as the truce deal required.
Late Thursday, Lebanon’s health ministry reported that 123 people had been killed and 683 wounded in the recent Israeli attacks.
Earlier in the day, the streets of Beirut erupted in chaos after the Israeli military warned people to leave the southern suburbs, prompting fears that it would soon begin a large-scale bombing campaign there. The Israeli military had attacked in the Beirut area on Wednesday night as well.
