Israeli fighter planes blasted the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, overnight and into Saturday, sending scared civilians fleeing major strikes purportedly aimed at Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Israel claimed to be striking Hezbollah’s headquarters and weapons installations, while US and Israeli media said Nasrallah was the target, despite a source close to the group saying he was “fine”.
The blasts that rattled southern Beirut were the most powerful to strike the Iran-backed movement’s heartland since Israel and Hezbollah last fought in 2006.
Following intense shelling across the Mediterranean city on Friday, Israel issued a new warning for citizens to flee parts of the highly populated Dahiyeh districts before dawn on Saturday.
Hundreds more families spent the night on the streets, seeking refuge in downtown Beirut’s Martyrs’ Square or along the seafront boardwalk. Radwan Msallam, a Syrian immigrant and father of six, stated that they had “nowhere to go”.
“We were at home when there was the call to evacuate. We took our identity papers, some belongings and we left,” he told AFP.
The Israeli army declined to comment on Nasrallah but claimed on Saturday to have killed “Muhammad Ali Ismail, the commander of Hezbollah’s missile unit in southern Lebanon, and his deputy” as well as “other senior officials”. AFP
