Israel said it carried out a strike on Hezbollah\u2019s central headquarters in Beirut on Friday, with media reports indicating a large explosion and plumes of orange and black smoke billowing above the skyline.<\/p>\n
The strike came shortly after Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the United Nations General Assembly and said Israel has \u201cthe right to remove\u201d the threat from Hezbollah on its northern border \u201cand return our citizens to their homes safely.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Israel has been tolerating this intolerable situation for nearly a year. Well, I’ve come here today to say enough is enough,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Israel \u201ccarried out a precise strike on the Central Headquarters of the Hezbollah terror organization \u2014 that served as the epicenter of Hezbollah’s terror.”<\/p>\n
Hagari accused Hezbollah of having \u201cintentionally built\u201d its headquarters \u201cunder residential buildings in the heart of the Dahieh, in Beirut, as part of Hezbollah’s strategy of using Lebanese people as human shields.\u201d<\/p>\n
He did not mention whether Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was a target of the strike, or present at the site.<\/p>\n
The strike came as Israel has rebuffed U.S. and international efforts to secure a 21-day cease-fire; it’s unclear if Hezbollah was open to accepting the truce.<\/p>\n
Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said the U.S. was not involved in this operation and had no advanced warning, even as Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin held a phone call this morning with Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMinister Gallant spoke with Secretary Austin as the operation was already underway. This operation happened within the last few hours. We are still assessing the event and don\u2019t have any additional\u00a0information or further specifics to provide at this time,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hezbollah began attacking Israel across the Israeli-Lebanese border in the aftermath of Hamas\u2019s Oct. 7 attack on Israel, but fighting has escalated dramatically in recent weeks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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