Multiple explosions in Beirut are caused by Israeli airstrikes that target the leader of Hezbollah and their headquarters.

Friday night, following a targeted Israeli airstrike on Hezbollah’s central headquarters, multiple explosions shook the Dahiyeh area of Beirut.

A building thought to be home to Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the head of the militant group, was targeted in an attack that was part of Israel’s ongoing efforts to target the leadership of Hezbollah. It is still unclear what became to him.

The Jerusalem Post reports that Israeli officials described the strike on the headquarters, which was built beneath residential buildings, as vital.

A senior Israeli security officer stated on army radio that “nobody in the Hezbollah headquarters will get out alive,” pointing out the extensive destruction in Dahiyeh.

As Lebanon’s emergency services responded to the horrific attack, ambulances were sent to the scene. Citing a source close to Hezbollah, Reuters said that Nasrallah survived despite the significant injuries. Hezbollah officials and the Iranian news agency Tasnim both claimed that Nasrallah was still alive.

Spokesperson for the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari, emphasised the strategic significance of the target and clarified that Hezbollah purposefully constructed its central offices beneath residential structures as part of its strategy to use civilians as human shields. He defined the structure as the centre of Hezbollah’s terrorist operations.

Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant saw the strike from the Israel Air Force command centre.

After approving the operation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was in New York at the time, decided to shorten his stay and head back to Israel.

Later on, the US Department of Defence made it clear that it was unaware of the impending strike. Additionally, President Joe Biden said that prior to the procedure, he was not aware of it.

Further Israeli bombings were reported in the southern Beirut suburbs, which are regarded as Hezbollah strongholds, by Hezbollah’s affiliate Al Manar TV.

The most recent intensification comes after 16 Hezbollah leaders, including chairman of the drone unit Muhammad Hossein Sarur and Ibrahim Aqil, were slain by Israeli attacks last week.

Ambulances and civil defence vehicles reacted to several buildings destroyed by the explosions after the most recent airstrikes, with reports of major destruction throughout Beirut’s southern neighbourhoods.