On the night of October 4, Israel struck the capital of Lebanon, Beirut. The target could be the new leader of Hezbollah Hashem Safieddine.
Reuters, Axios and The New York Times write about it.
Around midnight, Israel carried out airstrikes on the southern suburb of Beirut, Dahiya, which is considered a stronghold of Hezbollah militants. The explosions thundered, in particular, not far from the international airport of Beirut, which borders Dahiya.
Media sources say the attack targeted an underground bunker where senior Hezbollah leaders, including Hashem Safieddine, were believed to be gathering.
The bombing was one of the heaviest in the area since Israel killed former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, but it is unknown if Safieddine was killed in the airstrikes.
What preceded
Since mid-September, Israel has intensified its attacks on the Iranian-controlled Lebanese group Hezbollah. On September 17, hundreds of pagers belonging to Hezbollah members exploded in Lebanon. Because of this, 12 people died, almost 3 thousand were injured. Reuters, citing sources, writes that Israelʼs foreign intelligence service Mossad planted explosives in 5 000 pagers imported by Hezbollah a few months before the explosions. ABC News notes that Israel has been preparing for the operation for at least 15 years.
On September 18, a repeated series of explosions thundered in Lebanon. Walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members and car radios were detonated. 14 people died, another 450 were injured.
On September 20, IDF struck the Hezbollah high command in Beirut. The commander of the groupʼs missile division Ibrahim Kubaisi was killed in the attack. And within a week, on September 27, IDF struck the Hezbollah headquarters in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. The next day, the Israel Defense Forces and Hezbollah confirmed that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in the attack.
In response, Iran fired hundreds of missiles at Israel on October 1.
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