BEIRUT/UNITED NATIONS: The Israeli military said it had targeted Hezbollah's central headquarters in Beirut's southern suburbs on Friday in an attack that shook the Lebanese capital and sent thick clouds of smoke over the city.
Hezbollah's Al Manar television reported that four buildings were destroyed and there were many casualties in the multiple strikes, which marked a major escalation of Israel's conflict with the heavily armed, Hezbollah.
In a televised statement, Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the central command centre was embedded deep within civilian areas.
Footage broadcast by Al Manar TV showed at least one smouldering crater at the site of the attack.
Security sources in Lebanon said the attack targeted an area where top Hezbollah officials are usually based. It was the heaviest attack in Beirut in almost a year of conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.
The strikes hit Beirut shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to continue Israel's attacks on fighters in Lebanon in a closely watched United Nations speech, as hopes faded for a ceasefire that could head off an all-out regional war.
A year of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has escalated sharply this week, raising fears of an even more destructive conflict between the heavily armed adversaries.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Netanyahu vowed at the UN on Friday to press his country's offensive against Hezbollah, dashing hopes for a 21-day truce proposed by France and the United States this week.
Netanyahu's highly anticipated turn at the United Nations, during which he repeatedly denounced the global organisation as anti-Israel, was met with jeers by some delegates who walked out, but cheers and applause from his backers.
"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 safe," Netanyahu told the UN General Assembly.
"We will continue degrading Hezbollah until all our objectives are met."
His remarks appeared to undermine a truce proposal unveiled by the US and France after President Joe Biden and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, met on the sidelines of the UN gathering.
The White House has said that the ceasefire call had been "coordinated" with Israel, but Netanyahu's office on Thursday said that the prime minister had not responded to the proposal.
Delegates representing Lebanon, Iran, the Palestinians and others exited the room as Netanyahu took the rostrum for his speech.
"We have no interest in listening to the war criminal Netanyahu and to his lies," Majed Bamya, the Palestinian deputy ambassador to the UN, wrote on X alongside an image of his delegation's empty seats.
Netanyahu was "promising to repeat the atrocities committed in Gaza in Lebanon, (he) has nothing to do at the podium of the General Assembly," Bamya added in a subsequent post.
Netanyahu said at the start of his speech that "after I heard the lies and slanders levelled at my country by many of the speakers at this podium, I decided to come here and set the record straight." Ahead of his appearance, protesters gathered outside Netanyahu's hotel in New York to demand an end to the violence in Gaza and Lebanon. - AFP/Reuters
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