Heavy strikes shake Beirut as Israel expands Lebanon campaign

Heavy strikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs from late Saturday into Sunday, with explosions heard across the city and flashes of light seen for nearly 30 minutes.

These strikes followed days of Israeli bombings targeting areas considered Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut. Israel claimed responsibility for killing Hezbollah’s leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, on September 27, in a strike on the group’s central command. Hezbollah later confirmed Nasrallah’s death.

A Lebanese security source said that Hashem Safieddine, Nasrallah’s potential successor, had been missing since Friday after an Israeli airstrike near Beirut’s international airport, which was reportedly aimed at him. Hezbollah has not yet commented on Safieddine’s status.

Israel has been ramping up its military operations in Lebanon. On Saturday, it launched strikes in the northern city of Tripoli for the first time and conducted raids in the southern region. In addition to the attacks on Beirut’s southern suburbs, Israeli forces have expanded their actions beyond the Israel-Lebanon border.

According to Israeli officials, their military efforts have intensified to protect civilians in northern Israel, which has been bombarded by Hezbollah since early October. Israel reported that nine of its soldiers had been killed in southern Lebanon, while claiming to have killed 440 Hezbollah fighters and destroyed 2,000 of their targets in recent weeks.

This escalation marks a significant shift from the previous clashes, which were largely confined to border areas between Israel and Lebanon, alongside Israel’s ongoing conflict with Hamas in Gaza.