Intense Israeli Airstrikes Hit Dahieh, Reportedly Targeting Safieddine

Sources familiar with Hezbollah revealed that Israel executed 11 back-to-back airstrikes on the organization’s stronghold in southern Beirut late Thursday. This marked one of the most intense bombardments since Israel escalated its offensive last week. According to three Israeli officials cited by Axios, these attacks aimed at eliminating Hezbollah’s senior leader, Sayyed Hashem Safieddine.

Loud explosions during these raids triggered car alarms and shook buildings across the Lebanese capital, as reported by AFP correspondents. The aftermath was visually captured with footage displaying massive fireballs and dense smoke at the strike site, while flares illuminated the area.

Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) confirmed that this sequence of over ten airstrikes constituted one of the fiercest assaults on Beirut’s southern suburbs since the conflict’s onset. The impact of these strikes reverberated into the surrounding mountainous regions, added the NNA.

Earlier that day, the Israeli army’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, issued a critical evacuation warning to residents near the Bourj al-Barajneh area of south Beirut, hinting at imminent military actions due to the proximity of Hezbollah facilities.

Further details emerged about another airstrike targeting a warehouse near Beirut airport earlier in the evening, which a Hezbollah-related source discussed with AFP. However, the contents of the warehouse remain unspecified.

Reports by the NNA earlier in the day described several “enemy raids,” with one source mentioning that these earlier strikes aimed at a building used by Hezbollah’s media relations, which had been evacuated beforehand.

This recent escalation follows Israel’s announcement of ground operations in southern Lebanon, subsequent to prolonged aerial bombardments targeting Hezbollah areas throughout Lebanon. This military shift has led to significant casualties, with the conflict claiming over 1,000 lives and displacing hundreds of thousands. This series of events escalated further with the assassination of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in south Beirut, significantly impacting the densely populated region.