Israel launched a series of airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs in the early hours of Saturday.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) called on residents of Beirut’s Dahieh neighborhood to distance themselves from Hezbollah assets and facilities.
“We will continue to meticulously dismantle Hezbollah’s offensive capabilities. Hezbollah has strategically embedded weapons in civilian areas, putting Lebanese civilians at risk of harming Israeli civilians,” the IDF wrote on social media platform X.
“Our war is with Hezbollah, not with the people of Lebanon.”
Hezbollah said in a statement that there was “no truth” in Israel’s statements that there were weapons or depots in the targeted buildings.
There were initially no reports of casualties overnight.
Thousands of Lebanese gathered in parks in central Beirut and coastal areas.
At least six people were killed and 91 injured in Israeli attacks on Beirut’s densely populated Haret Hreik neighborhood in the Dahieh suburb on Friday, according to Lebanese authorities.
The military said the attack was a targeted attack on the Hezbollah militia headquarters, located beneath a residential building.
Israeli media reported that Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was the target of the attack, but this has not been confirmed by the government or military. His whereabouts were currently unknown.
The IDF later said it had killed Hezbollah’s commander of its missile unit in an airstrike.
They said Muhammad Ali Ismail was responsible for firing rockets into Israel and directing terrorist attacks. In addition to Ali Ismail, his deputy Hussein Ahmad Ismail was also killed, the IDF said.
