Israel targeted Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in air strikes on Beirut on Friday, a US official told the BBC’s partner CBS.
The Israel Defense Forces said they had killed Nasrallah in the Friday strikes.
Hezbollah is yet to comment.
Air strikes continued into Saturday morning in southern Beirut, with a BBC correspondent seeing thick smoke rising over several locations in Dahieh.
The strikes hit several buildings in Dahieh, Hezbollah’s stronghold in the south of the city.
Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rr Adm Daniel Hagari said a “very accurate” strike had been carried out on Hezbollah headquarters.
The attack came as shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “defeat Hezbollah” in a speech at the UN General Assembly in New York
Netanyahu said Israel would continue attacking Hezbollah to achieve its goal of returning about 70,000 displaced Israelis to their homes in northern Israel. His office said he was cutting his trip to New York short and returning to Israel.
The US had no advance warning of Israel’s attack on Dahieh, the Pentagon said. Meanwhile, Joe Biden ordered the Pentagon to “asses and adjust” US forces in the Middle East as necessary, according to the White House
Biden also ordered US embassies in the region to “take all protective measures as appropriate”
Credit: BBC
