Israel targets Hezbollah chief in massive strikes, fate unknown

• Israel said on Friday it had carried out a strike against Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut.
• The strike reportedly targeted the leader of the military group, Hassan Nasrallah.
• His fate is currently unknown.

The Israeli military announced that it carried out a “precision strike” in the Lebanese capital Beirut on Friday, which targeted the headquarters of the militant group Hezbollah.

The massive airstrikes, which destroyed several high-rise buildings and caused dozens of casualties, targeted Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah for more than three decades, according to multiple reports citing both Israeli and US officials. The strike raises questions about his fate.

It’s unclear whether Nasrallah was at the scene, but a former senior Israeli official told CNN that Israel has a “very high degree of certainty” that he was there, given the power of the attack.

If he was, it is unclear whether he survived. Some Israeli media reports have reported that officials believe he was killed. A source close to Hezbollah told Reuters that the militant group’s senior leadership was inaccessible.

If Nasrallah were to be eliminated in the coup, it would mark a major blow to the Iran-backed group. Israel has increasingly targeted top Hezbollah officials and operatives over the past week, but killing its leader would be a significant and dramatic escalation.

Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, a spokesman for the Israeli military, said the headquarters hit Friday was located under residential buildings in Dahieh, a suburb of Beirut. He called the facility “Hezbollah’s epicenter of terror.”

Video footage of the strikes showed explosions and smoke billowing from a residential area. Photos from the aftermath revealed massive destruction, with several buildings completely reduced to rubble. Local authorities said at least two people were killed and dozens more injured. These numbers are likely to increase.

A Pentagon spokesman said the US had received no advance warning before the attacks. However, she said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had spoken to his Israeli counterpart while the operation was underway.

Israel has not publicly acknowledged that it specifically targeted Nasrallah, nor has it commented on his status.

Hours after earlier strikes against Hezbollah’s headquarters, the Israeli military said it was carrying out additional strikes on Hezbollah weapons depots in Beirut.

“In the last hour, IAF warplanes hit dozens of Hezbollah launchers targeting Israeli civilians as well as buildings where weapons were stored in several areas in southern Lebanon,” the Israeli military said shortly after 1am local time.

Israel and Hezbollah have traded cross-border strikes almost daily over the past year, but fighting between the two bitter enemies has escalated sharply in the past week after Israel’s widespread radio and walkie-talkie attacks.

Israeli forces appear to be preparing for a potential ground invasion of Lebanon, leading to fears that it could descend into an all-out war against Hezbollah. US officials have expressed concern about a larger confrontation between the two.