Huge clouds of black smoke billowed into the sky over Beirut on Friday as Israel’s military said it had carried out a “precise strike” on the central headquarters of the militant group Hezbollah.
The series of powerful blasts in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, which shook apartment windows miles away, appeared among the largest such strikes since hostilities erupted between Israel and Hezbollah nearly a year ago.
Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah has escalated sharply over the last two weeks, including attacks using sabotaged communication devices, strikes aimed at senior commanders and hundreds of attacks on launch sites for rockets and missiles inside Lebanon.
The strike in the Dahieh district came only an hour after thousands of people had attended the funeral of three Hezbollah members, including a senior commander, who were killed in earlier attacks.
Dahieh, a Hezbollah stronghold, is one of the most densely populated parts of the capital. Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces, said the target was the main Hezbollah headquarters, which he described as a subterranean complex situated underneath residential buildings.
There was no immediate word on casualties, but ambulances rushed to the scene, sirens wailing. Authorities and Hezbollah fighers swiftly cordoned off entrances to the area, turning back most of those who tried to enter.
The targeted area is close to a Palestinian refugee camp, Burj Al Barajneh, and the early-evening blasts sent residents fleeing with whatever they could carry. Many streamed to the highway nearby, trying to find any vehicle to take them to the south.
The strike marked the latest intensification of a more than 11-month cross-border campaign of strikes by Israel and Hezbollah, which have sent tens of thousands of civilians fleeing on both sides of the border and raised fears of an all-out war.
Israeli warplanes have staged daily raids in south Lebanon and beyond, while Hezbollah has continued rocket and missile fire into Israel.
Even before Friday’s strike, the death toll in Lebanon this week had risen to at least 720, according to Lebanon’s health minister. The ministry does not differentiate between combatants and civilians, but said many women and children were among the dead.
Times staff write Laura King reported from Washington.