Israeli airstrikes rock Beirut, target command centre

A fresh wave of air raids hit Beirut's southern suburbs in the early hours as Israel stepped up attacks on Hezbollah, after a massive strike on the Iran-backed group's HQ that apparently targeted leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Witnesses said they heard more than 20 separate airstrikes before dawn.

Abandoning their homes in the southern suburbs, thousands of Lebanese congregated in squares, parks and sidewalks in downtown Beirut and seaside areas.

Heavy strikes shook southern Beirut with no immediate confirmation of Mr Nasrallah's fate.

However a source close to Hezbollah told journalists he was not reachable, and the Lebanese armed group had yet to make a statement.

Earlier, a source close to Hezbollah said that Nasrallah was alive, and Iran's Tasnim news agency also reported he was safe.

The latest barrage came hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the United Nations General Assembly that his country had a right to continue the campaign.

"As long as Hezbollah chooses the path of war, Israel has no choice, and Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their homes safely," the Israeli leader said.

Several delegations walked out as Mr Netanyahu approached the lectern while supporters in the gallery cheered. The Israeli president later cut short his trip to New York to return to Israel.

The attack, by far the most powerful by Israel on Beirut during nearly a year of warfare with Hezbollah, marked a sharp escalation of a conflict that has seen a daily missile and rocket fire between the two sides.

Read more about the conflict in the Middle East

Lebanese health authorities confirmed six dead and 91 wounded in the initial attack, the fourth on Beirut's Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs in a week and the heaviest since a 2006 war.

But the final toll appeared likely to be much higher.

Authorities in Lebanon said more than 700 people had been killed in strikes over the past week.

Security sources in Lebanon said the target was an area where top Hezbollah officials are usually based.

The Israeli military had told residents in parts of Beirut's southern suburbs to evacuate as it targeted missile launchers and weapons storage sites it said were under civilian housing.

This week's escalation has displaced around 100,000 people in Lebanon, increasing the total number of people uprooted in the country by the conflict to well over 200,000.

Israel's government has declared returning 70,000 Israeli evacuees to their homes as one of their aims of the conflict in the Middle East.

Escalation

Hezbollah has fired hundreds of rockets and missiles against targets in Israel, including Tel Aviv. The group said it fired rockets at the northern Israeli city of Safed, where a woman was treated for minor injuries.

Israel's air defence systems have ensured the damage has so far been minimal.

The latest escalation has sharply increased fears the conflict could spiral out of control, potentially drawing in Iran, Hezbollah's principal backer, as well as the United States.

Iran, which said the attack crossed "red lines", accused Israel of using US-made "bunker-busting" bombs in the strike yesterday, which was much more powerful than other recent attacks.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the United States had not been informed of the strike beforehand and US President Joe Biden was being informed of developments.

Hezbollah opened the latest bout in the decades-long conflict by launching a missile barrage against Israel immediately following the 7 October attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza last year.