Amid escalating tensions between Israel & hezbollah, Israel launched another series of intense airstrikes on Friday, targeting southern suburban areas of Beirut and cutting off the main border crossing between Lebanon and Syria.
As a result, massive volume of smoke and fire went into the sky, with explosions powerful enough to shake buildings miles away. In the Dahiyeh neighborhood, where the damage was severe, streets were strewn with rubble, cars were burned, and at least one building was reduced to ruins.
As per Israeli military, it targeted Hezbollah’s central intelligence headquarters around midnight. Although it did not specify whether any key militants were killed in this strike, the military claimed to have eliminated 100 Hezbollah fighters in the last 24 hours.
Earlier in a another major escalation, Israel on thursday targeted the Lebanon-Syria border, about 50 kilometers east of Beirut, cutting off the road near the heavily used Masnaa Border Crossing for the first time since hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel reignited nearly a year ago.
As per Israel, this crossing was being used to smuggle weapons into Lebanon for Hezbollah, primarily from Iran.
Earlier in Tehran, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivered a speech praising Iran’s missile strikes on Israel and threatening further action if necessary. His speech came during Friday prayers at the Mosalla mosque, which was adorned with a large Palestinian flag.
Meanwhile, Israel also launched a ground offensive into Lebanon earlier this week, clashing with Hezbollah fighters in a narrow border region. The goal of the operation, according to Israeli military officials, is to halt Hezbollah’s rocket fire into country’s northern side.
According to Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, the ground operations aims to eliminate Hezbollah presence along the border and also ensure that civilians in northern Israel can safely return to their homes.
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